The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all legal matters. The attorney general is a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United States. It is equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries. The department is headed by the U.S. attorney general, who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet. The current attorney general is Merrick Garland, who has served since March 2021.
The United States order of precedence is an advisory document maintained by the Ceremonials Division of the Office of the Chief of Protocol of the United States which lists the ceremonial order, or relative preeminence, for domestic and foreign government officials at diplomatic, ceremonial, and social events within the United States and abroad. The list is used to mitigate miscommunication and embarrassment in diplomacy, and offer a distinct and concrete spectrum of preeminence for ceremonies. Often the document is used to advise diplomatic and ceremonial event planners on seating charts and order of introduction. Former presidents, vice presidents, first ladies, second ladies, and secretaries of state and retired Supreme Court justices are also included in the list.
Merrick Brian Garland is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as the 86th United States attorney general. He previously served as a U.S. circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1997 to 2021. In 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the Republican-led U.S. Senate effectively blocked Garland's appointment.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1909, Kirkland & Ellis is the largest law firm in the world by revenue and the seventh-largest by number of attorneys, and was the first law firm in the world to reach US$4 billion in annual revenue.
Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an assistant attorney general.
The United States Department of Justice Criminal Division is a federal agency of the United States Department of Justice that develops, enforces, and supervises the application of all federal criminal laws in the United States. Criminal Division attorneys prosecute many nationally significant cases and formulate and implement criminal enforcement policy. Division attorneys also provide advice and guidance to the Attorney General of the United States, the United States Congress, and the White House on matters of criminal law. The Division was founded in 1919.
William Walter "Bill" Mercer is an American attorney and politician serving as a member of the Montana House of Representatives from the 46th district. He previously served as the United States Attorney for the District of Montana, as well as principal associate deputy attorney general for the United States Department of Justice. Mercer was nominated by President George W. Bush as Associate Attorney General and served in the position in an acting capacity, but resigned before his confirmation hearing could take place.
The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is a sub-agency of the United States Department of Justice whose chief function is to conduct removal proceedings in immigration courts and adjudicate appeals arising from the proceedings. These administrative proceedings determine the removability and admissibility of individuals in the United States. As of January 19, 2023, there were sixty-eight immigration courts and three adjudication centers throughout the United States.
Rod Jay Rosenstein is an American attorney who served as the 37th United States deputy attorney general from April 2017 until May 2019. Prior to his appointment, he served as a United States attorney for the District of Maryland. At the time of his confirmation as deputy attorney general in April 2017, he was the longest-serving U.S. attorney. Rosenstein had also been nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in 2007, but his nomination was never considered by the U.S. Senate.
Vanita Gupta is an American attorney who served as United States Associate Attorney General from April 22, 2021, to February 2, 2024. From 2014 to 2017, Gupta served as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division under President Barack Obama.
Lisa Oudens Monaco is an American attorney, former federal prosecutor and national security official who has served as the 39th and current United States Deputy Attorney General since April 21, 2021. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Sally Quillian Yates is an American lawyer. From 2010 to 2015, she was United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. In 2015, she was appointed United States Deputy Attorney General by President Barack Obama. Following the inauguration of President Donald Trump and the departure of Attorney General Loretta Lynch on January 20, 2017, Yates served as Acting Attorney General for 10 days.
Jeffrey Adam Rosen is an American lawyer who served as the acting United States attorney general from December 2020 to January 2021 and as the United States deputy attorney general from 2019 to 2020. Before joining the Department of Justice, he was a senior partner at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis and was the United States deputy secretary of transportation.
The Robert Mueller special counsel investigation was an investigation into 45th U.S. president Donald Trump regarding Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and was conducted by special prosecutor Robert Mueller from May 2017 to March 2019. It was also called the Russia investigation, the Mueller probe, and the Mueller investigation.
Associate deputy attorney general is a position in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General in the United States Department of Justice. The number of positions varies widely depending on the staffing discretion of the deputy attorney general, but in 2017, there were five such positions, all of whom served as advisors to the deputy attorney general. There is also a separate principal associate deputy attorney general, who is the principal advisor to the deputy attorney general, and to whom all associate deputy attorneys general report. The associate deputy attorney general positions are filled by Senior Executive Service (SES) career attorneys, by SES political appointees, or by non-SES career attorneys serving on detail assignments from elsewhere in the department.
John Philip Carlin is an American attorney and former government official who served as the acting deputy attorney general in the United States Department of Justice from January to April 2021. From April 2021 to September 2022, Carlin was principal associate deputy attorney general under Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. He previously served as United States assistant attorney general for the National Security Division from April 2014 to October 15, 2016, and as chief of staff to Robert Mueller during his time as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Christopher Robert Kavanaugh is an American attorney who is the United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia.
Kevin Andrew Chambers is an American attorney and former certified public accountant serving as an associate deputy attorney general in the Biden administration. In March 2022, he was appointed to serve as director for COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement in the United States Department of Justice.
