Jeff Sessions Asks All Remaining Obama-Appointed U.S. Attorneys To Resign

Jeff Sessions Asks All Remaining Obama-Appointed U.S. Attorneys To Resign

In a move that will likely provoke further media, and pundit, fury despite it being a routine act that is concurrent with every change in administration, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has asked all remaining Obama-appointed U.S. Attorneys for their resignation. 

Sarah Isgur Flores, Director of Public Affairs at the Department of Justice, released the following statement: 

"As was the case in prior transitions, many of the United States Attorneys nominated by the previous administration already have left the Department of Justice. The Attorney General has now asked the remaining 46 presidentially appointed U.S. Attorneys to tender their resignations in order to ensure a uniform transition. Until the new U.S. Attorneys are confirmed, the dedicated career prosecutors in our U.S. Attorney's Offices will continue the great work of the Department in investigating, prosecuting, and deterring the most violent offenders." 

Today's decision, long-overdue accoring to many, comes less than two months after then President-elect Trump said on January 18 he would allow U.S. attorneys appointed by President Barack Obama to remain in their roles for the time being. 

Before the announcement, officials in several U.S. attorneys’ offices told The Huffington Post they had received no guidance from the incoming administration on whether they were expected to resign when Trump became president. 

As a reminder, it is standard practice for a new president to appoint his own U.S. attorneys, who are political appointees. 

In retrospect, this decision should perhaps have been taken earlier, especially in the context of the constant pushback Trump's immigration EO - both original and revised - has received by various Obama-appointed Attorneys in the past month. 

The bottom line, however, is that what Sessions has done, is considered standard operating procedure, and if anything Trump was late making the announcement.