U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has introduced a bill aimed at changing how acting United States Attorneys are appointed. The proposed legislation seeks to return the power of appointing interim U.S. Attorneys to the President, a responsibility that current law can transfer to federal judges under certain conditions.
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) is cosponsoring the bill.
“President Trump deserves to pick the people working for him,” said Senator Mike Lee. “Judges shouldn’t get to choose the US Attorney who will be arguing cases before them, just as they would never let a President name their law clerks. Congress took this provision out once before, and Democrats revived it to hamper the Bush administration almost 20 years ago. It’s time we restored this prerogative to the leader of the Executive Branch.”
According to current law, U.S. Attorneys are initially appointed by the President and must be confirmed by the Senate. While awaiting confirmation, an interim U.S. Attorney can be selected by the Attorney General for up to 120 days. If there is no Senate confirmation within that period, district courts have authority to appoint another interim U.S. Attorney.
Supporters of Senator Lee’s bill argue that allowing courts this appointment power undermines separation of powers and may create conflicts of interest since judges could select attorneys who appear before them in court.
The legislation would shift all interim appointment authority back to the executive branch.
More details and exclusive coverage are available at The Federalist: https://thefederalist.com/2025/07/31/mike-lee-bill-seeks-to-stop-federal-judges-from-picking-prosecutors/
The full text of the bill can be read here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/999/text
