DOJ Lacks Lawyers

Not a single one of the 47 U.S. attorneys asked to turn in their resignations last month by Attorney General Jeff Sessions have been replaced, leaving the Department of Justice understaffed in key positions. There are 93 unfilled U.S. attorney positions, and Sessions does not have heads for the civil rights, criminal, or national security divisions of the Justice Department. Rod J. Rosenstein, nominated for deputy attorney general, is still not on board, but he is expected to be confirmed later this month. “We really need to work on that,” Sessions told the Washington Post this week. Ronald Weich, who ran DOJ’s legislative affairs division under President Obama, said, “It’s like trying to win a baseball game without your first-string players on the field. There are human beings occupying each of those seats. But that’s not the same as having appointed and confirmed officials who represent the priorities of the administration. And the administration is clearly way behind in achieving that goal.”