Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee just advanced a dangerous bill to help Donald Trump abuse the power of the government to persecute his political opponents.
The bill is HR 8065. Its formal name is the Restoring Executive Branch Authorities to Oversee Offices of the United States Attorneys Act. If enacted, it would take away federal district courts’ ability to name interim United States Attorneys (USAs) when the White House and Senate can’t agree on who should fill that role on a permanent basis. It would let Trump perpetually place unqualified loyalists into these powerful positions without any check from another branch of government.
What are U.S. Attorneys, and why are they important?
Among other things, U.S. Attorneys are the chief federal prosecutors in their district. So, for instance, the USA for the Southern District of New York is in charge of all federal prosecutions and criminal investigations in Manhattan and the Bronx.
Prosecutors occupy a critical role in a country that protects both public safety and individual liberties. We have given our government the power to take people away from their homes, imprison them, and even execute them. That power is a weighty one and potentially subject to abuse. Those who wield the power of the prosecutor must show that they can be trusted.
That is why the president can’t simply name whoever he wants to be a USA. After he nominates someone, that person has to be confirmed by the Senate. That’s a constitutional requirement.
What happens when there is no U.S. Attorney?
There are frequently vacancies in the position of USA, especially at the start of a new presidential administration. So Congress set up a mechanism to make sure these important offices can continue to function.
First, the attorney general can name an interim USA until a Senate-confirmed person can take the position. But to prevent the administration from abusing that provision, to unilaterally appoint someone to the position permanently, the same law states that the acting USA can’t serve for more than 90 days.
After that, if the Senate still hasn’t confirmed anyone, the law gives federal judges in the district the power to select a new U.S. Attorney.
Trump’s abuse of the law
It is essential that United States Attorneys place their ethical obligations and their oaths to support the Constitution over personal loyalty to Donald Trump. But that has not always happened.
Since Trump’s return to office, the Justice Department has become an instrument of his revenge. His hand-picked interim USAs have launched criminal investigations and sometimes even prosecutions to exact revenge against people he perceives as his political opponents.
When their terms have run out and courts have named replacement interim USAs, Trump has fired them and tried to install his own second interim USA. That’s illegal. Courts have struck down those actions as violating the law on interim USAs.
The law imposes limits on Trump’s power. So Republicans are trying to change the law.
What happened in Congress?
On March 26, the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee held a meeting to advance HR 8065. The bill would take away the courts’ power to select USAs when the president and Senate can’t agree on a nominee. It would also let the president engage in serial appointments of interim USAs for the entirety of his term, turning the need for Senate confirmation into a dead letter.
Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (MD) led the Democrats’ opposition to the bill. He warned how it was designed to let Trump install political loyalists into USA positions without Senate confirmation. The Attorney General would be able to appoint “one sycophant after another” so the Justice Department could exact revenge on people that Trump doesn’t like. Raskin condemned Republicans for “trying to change the rules so Trump can get away with … lawless behavior.”
Rep. Hank Johnson (GA) warned that the bill was designed to let Trump install loyalists so incompetent that they can’t be confirmed by a Republican-controlled Senate. He noted that Trump is seeking “lackeys” in these positions who will do his bidding, regardless of a case’s legal merits. He tied the bill to the “No Kings” rallies planned for this weekend.
Several other Democratic members of the committee spoke up against the bill. However, with Republicans having the majority, it passed in a party-line vote.
What happens next?
The bill next goes to the full House. In order to become law, it would also have to be passed by the Senate.
With this dangerous bill out of committee, it is a good time to call your representatives in Congress to tell them to oppose HR 8065. Our country has no kings. No president should be given unlimited power to appoint US Attorneys without Senate confirmation.