Executive Order 13775
Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Justice
Seal of the President of the United States
Executive Order 13775 in the Federal Register
TypeExecutive order
Executive Order number13775
Signed byDonald Trump on February 9, 2017 (2017-02-09)
Federal Register details
Federal Register document number2017-03116
Publication dateFebruary 14, 2017 (2017-02-14)
Document citation10697
Summary
Changes the line of succession for the Department of Justice

Executive Order 13775 is the eleventh executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Signed on February 9, 2017, the order changes the line of succession for the Department of Justice (DOJ). This order specifically reverses changes made to the DOJ line of succession that former President Barack Obama made in executive order 13762.

Background

On January 13, 2017, during the Presidential transition of Donald Trump, then President Obama issued executive order 13762.[1] This order changed the Department of Justice line of succession to the following:

Notably, this order removed the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia from the fourth position in the line.

Following the resignation of Attorney General Loretta Lynch at the end of the presidential transition, Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates ascended to the position of Acting Attorney General, a position she would presumably retain until the confirmation of Jeff Sessions, who was Donald Trump's nomination for the position.[2]

On January 27, 2017, Trump signed Executive Order 13769, which placed limits on travel to the U.S. from certain countries, and by all refugees.[3] This provoked several lawsuits, including Washington v. Trump, that sought to challenge the constitutionality of the order. On January 30, Yates publicly refused to defend the order, and also barred all other DOJ personnel from defending the order as well.[4] Later that day Yates was fired for insubordination and the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Dana Boente, was appointed to the position of Acting Attorney General.[5][6][7]

On February 9 Trump issued Executive Order 13775 which changed the DOJ's order of succession. This order designated the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia as the fourth position in the line, the position it formerly occupied.

This Executive Order was revoked on March 31, 2017.[8]

Provisions

The executive order is broken down into four sections:

  • The new line of succession at the Department of Justice is now:
    1. Attorney General
    2. Deputy Attorney General
    3. Associate Attorney General
    4. United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia
    5. United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois
    6. United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri
  • Individuals who are only acting members of the positions outlined in the first section are not in the line of succession. The President retains the ability to depart from the line of succession in designating future acting attorneys general.
  • Executive Order 13762 is revoked.
  • The order should not be construed as creating any new rights or benefits.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Justice". whitehouse.gov. Washington, D.C.: White House. January 13, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  2. ↑ Gerstein, Josh (January 17, 2017). "Trump will allow U.S. attorneys to stay past Friday". Politico. Arlington County, Virginia: Capitol News Company. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  3. ↑ Executive Order 13769 of January 27, 2017: Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States. Executive Office of the President. 82 FR 8977–8982. Published: February 1, 2017.
  4. ↑ Barrett, Devlin (January 30, 2017). "Acting Attorney General Orders Justice Dept. Not to Defend Trump's Immigration Ban". The Wall Street Journal. New York City: News Corp. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  5. ↑ Roy, Jessica (January 30, 2017). "Why people are calling the acting attorney general's firing the 'Monday Night Massacre'". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  6. ↑ Zelizer, Julian. "Monday night massacre is a wake-up call to Senate Democrats". CNN. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Monday Night Massacre: Trump fires acting Attorney General". MSNBC. New York City: NBCUniversal. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Presidential Executive Order on Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Justice". whitehouse.gov. Washington, D.C. March 31, 2017. Retrieved April 1, 2017 – via National Archives.
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