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Flag of a U.S. assistant attorney general.Motto in English: For The Lady Who Pursues Justice. Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) are headed by an assistant attorney general .
The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the advice and consent of the Senate .[ 1]
Assistant attorneys general report either to the deputy attorney general (in the case of the Criminal Division, the Justice Management Division and the Offices of Legal Counsel, Legislative Affairs, and Legal Policy) or to the associate attorney general (in the case of the Antitrust, Civil, Civil Rights, Environment & Natural Resources, and Tax Divisions and the Office of Justice Programs).
List of U.S. assistant attorneys general
Assistant Attorney General
Antitrust Division Name Years of service Appointed by William Joseph Donovan 1926–1927 Calvin Coolidge John Lord O'Brian 1929–1933 Herbert Hoover Robert H. Jackson 1937–1938 Franklin D. Roosevelt Thurman Arnold 1938–1943 Wendell Berge 1943–1947 John F. Sonnett 1947–1948 Harry S. Truman Herbert Bergson 1948–1950 Leonard Bessman 1950–1951 H. Graham Morison 1951–1952 Newell A. Clapp 1952–1953 acting Stanley Barnes 1953–1956 Eisenhower Victor R. Hansen 1956–1959 Robert A. Bicks 1959–1961 Lee Loevinger 1961–1963 Kennedy William Horsley Orrick, Jr. 1963–1965 Donald F. Turner 1965–1968 Lyndon Johnson Edwin Zimmerman 1968–1969 Richard W. McLaren 1969–1972 Richard Nixon Walker B. Comegys 1972 acting Thomas E. Kauper 1972–1976 Richard Nixon Donald I. Baker 1976–1977 Gerald R. Ford John H. Shenefield 1977–1979 Jimmy Carter Sanford Litvack 1979–1981 William Baxter 1981–1983 Ronald Reagan J. Paul McGrath 1983–1985 Douglas H. Ginsburg 1985–1986 Charles Rule 1986–1989 James F. Rill 1989–1992 George H.W. Bush Charles James 1992 acting J. Mark Gidley 1992–1993 acting Anne Bingaman 1993–1996 Bill Clinton Joel Klein 1996–2000 Douglas Melamed 2000–2001 acting Charles James 2001–2003 George W. Bush R. Hewitt Pate 2003–2005 Thomas O. Barnett 2005–2008 Deborah A. Garza 2008–2009 acting Christine A. Varney 2009–2011 Barack Obama Sharis Pozen 2011–2012 acting Joseph F. Wayland 2012 acting Renata Hesse 2012–2013 acting William Baer 2013–2017 Barack Obama Makan Delrahim 2017–2021 Donald Trump Jonathan Kanter 2021–2024 Joe Biden Doha Mekki 2024–2025 acting Gail Slater 2025– Donald Trump
Civil Division
Civil Rights Division
Criminal Division
National Security Division Name President(s) Announcement Nomination sentto the Senate Confirmationby the Senate Sworn in Left office Kenneth L. Wainstein [ 6] George W. Bush March 13, 2006 September 21, 2006[ 7] September 28, 2006[ 8] March 30, 2008, to become Homeland Security Advisor (Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism)[ 9] J. Patrick Rowan June 19, 2008[ 10] September 26, 2008[ 11] [ 12] [ 13] October 3, 2008[ 12] January 20, 2009[ 14] David S. Kris Barack Obama January 22, 2009[ 15] February 11, 2009[ 14] March 25, 2009[ 16] – – Lisa Monaco March 17, 2011[ 17] June 28, 2011[ 18] July 1, 2011[ 19] March 8, 2013 John Demers Donald Trump , Joe Biden September 2, 2017 September 5, 2017 February 15, 2018 February 22, 2018 June 21, 2021 Matthew G. Olsen Joe Biden May 26, 2021 May 27, 2021 October 28, 2021 November 1, 2021 January 20, 2025
Environment and Natural Resources Division
Justice Management Division
Tax Division
Office of Justice Programs
Office of Legal Counsel Name Years served Appointed by Notes Angus D. MacLean 1933–1935 Franklin D. Roosevelt [ 22] Golden W. Bell 1935–1939 Charles Fahy 1940–1941 Oscar S. Cox 1942–1943 Hugh B. Cox 1943–1945 Harold W. Judson 1945–1946 George T. Washington 1946–1949 Harry Truman Abraham J. Harris 1950–1951 Joseph C. Duggan 1951–1952 J. Lee Rankin 1953–1956 Dwight Eisenhower Became Solicitor General in 1956. W. Wilson White 1957 After a short tenure, selected to be first head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. Malcolm R. Wilkey 1958–1959 Robert Kramer 1959–1961 Nicholas Katzenbach 1961–1962 John F. Kennedy Norbert A. Schlei 1962–1966 Frank H. Wozencraft 1966–1969 Lyndon Johnson William H. Rehnquist 1969–1971 Richard Nixon Later nominated and confirmed as Associate, and subsequent Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Ralph E. Erickson 1971–1972 Roger C. Cramton 1972–1973 Antonin Scalia 1974–1977 Gerald Ford Later nominated and confirmed as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. John M. Harmon 1977–1981 Jimmy Carter [ 23] Theodore B. Olson 1981–1984 Ronald Reagan Later became U.S. Solicitor General. Charles J. Cooper 1985–1988 Douglas Kmiec 1988–1989 Later U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Malta during the "Arab Spring" uprisings. William P. Barr 1989–1990 George H. W. Bush Michael Luttig 1990–1991 Timothy Flanigan 1991–1992 Walter Dellinger 1993–1994 Bill Clinton Later became acting U.S. Solicitor General. Beth Nolan 1995 acting [ 24] Served as acting Assistant AG, OLC, while Deputy Assistant Attorney General. Nominated to become Assistant AG, OLC, but Senate did not vote on the nomination. Became White House Counsel in 1996. Dawn Johnsen 1996–1998 acting Randolph D. Moss 1998–2001 Bill Clinton Served as acting AAG from 1998 to 2000; nominated November 9, 1999; Recess-appointed August 3, 2000; confirmed by United States Senate December 15, 2000 Jay S. Bybee 2001 – March 2003 George W. Bush In charge when the OLC issued the Bybee memo and other Torture memos ; appointed as a federal judge; started March 21, 2003 Jack Goldsmith October 2003 – June 2004 Later Professor at Harvard Law School and author of The Terror Presidency (2007) Daniel Levin 2004–2005 acting Steven G. Bradbury 2005–2009 acting Served as acting AAG 2005–2007 (nominated June 23, 2005; nomination approved by Senate Judiciary Committee but never voted on by full Senate), continued to function as senior appointed official in charge of OLC until January 20, 2009. David J. Barron 2009–2010 Professor at Harvard Law School and served as Acting AAG from January 2009 to July 2010. Jonathan G. Cedarbaum 2010–2011 Served as acting AAG, July–November 2010; continued to function as senior appointed official in charge of OLC until the end of January 2011. Caroline D. Krass 2011 Senior appointed official leading OLC since the end of January 2011 until June 2011, when Virginia A. Seitz was confirmed. Virginia A. Seitz 2011–2013 Barack Obama Confirmed by the Senate in a voice vote on June 28, 2011. Resigned effective December 20, 2013.[ 25] Karl R. Thompson 2014–2017 acting Appointed Principal Deputy AAG on March 24, 2014.[ 26] Curtis E. Gannon 2017 Appointed Principal Deputy AAG on January 20, 2017.[ 27] Steven Engel 2017–2021 Donald Trump Christopher H. Schroeder 2021–2023 Joe Biden Benjamin C. Mizer 2023 acting Gillian E. Metzger 2023–2024 Christopher Fonzone 2024–2025 Joe Biden Henry C. Whitaker 2025-present Donald Trump
Office of Legal Policy
Office of Legislative Affairs
References ^ 28 U.S.C. § 506 ^ United States Department of Justice (November 8, 2013). "FEDERAL ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL" . justice.gov.^ "Attorney General Holder Announces Vanita Gupta to Serve as Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division | OPA | Department of Justice" . Justice.gov. October 15, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2016 .^ "James P. Turner, Used and Abused: The Civil Rights Division, Washington Post, Sunday, December 14, 1997; Page C01" .^ "The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division: A Historical Perspective as the Division Nears 50, Remarks by Wan Kim, Mar. 22, 2006" (PDF) .^ "Presidential Nomination: Kenneth Leonard Wainstein" . whitehouse.gov National Archives .^ Wayback Machine ^ "#06-655: 09-28-06 Kenneth L. Wainstein Sworn in as First Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division" . www.usdoj.gov .^ "Ken Wainstein, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism" . whitehouse.gov National Archives .^ "Personnel Announcement" . whitehouse.gov National Archives .^ Statement Of Sen. Leahy On Nomination Of J. Patrick Rowan ^ a b "results.gov : Resources For The President's Team" . whitehouse.gov National Archives .^ http://www.govtrack.us/congress/record.xpd?id=110-s20080926-139 ^ a b "Nomination Press Release – Assistant Attorney General – The White House" . whitehouse.gov . Retrieved November 27, 2013 – via National Archives .^ Lichtblau, Eric (January 22, 2009). "Obama Picks Critic of Warrantless Wiretapping for Slot at Justice Dept" . The New York Times . ^ "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 111th Congress – 1st Session" . www.senate.gov .^ "Lisa Monaco Nominated To Lead DOJ National Security Division" . The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times .^ "3 Justice Dept. Nominees Are Confirmed" . The New York Times . June 29, 2011.^ "Meet the Assistant Attorney General" . justice.gov . Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2020 .^ "Ernest Knaebel" . www.justice.gov . April 13, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2023 .^ "Office of Justice Programs: Laurie O. Robinson, Acting Assistant Attorney General/Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General" . Ojp.usdoj.gov. November 9, 2009. Archived from the original on July 1, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2013 .^ Register, Department of Justice and the Courts of the United States United States Government Printing Office (1972–1976), p. 131. "Office of Legal Counsel (Formerly Office of Assistant Solicitor General and Executive Adjudications Division," list of officeholders through 1973.^ John M. Harmon bio Archived 2008-12-07 at the Wayback Machine , Graves, Dougherty, Hearon & Moody.^ "Nolan to Become 1st Female White House Counsel" . Los Angeles Times . August 20, 1999. Retrieved August 2, 2009 .^ "National Law Journal" . National Law Journal .^ "Meet the Assistant Attorney General – OLC – Department of Justice" . www.justice.gov . January 11, 2018.^ "Meet the Leadership" . justice.gov . United States Department of Justice. January 20, 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2017 .^ a b "White House Press Release" (PDF) . Ford Library Museum 
