The US Attorney General is a position high in the Executive cabinet. This individual works as secretary of the Department of Justice, and consults with the President when needed and during cabinet meetings. According to the Department of Justice, They are responsible for representing the United States in all legal matters; supervising and directing  the administration and operation of the offices, boards, divisions, and bureaus that comprise the Department; and making recommendations to the President concerning appointments to federal judicial positions and to positions within the Department, including U.S. Attorneys and U.S. Marshals.

This position was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. The first person to hold this position was Edmund Randolph, who worked with George Washington.

In more recent years, our Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, was asked by the President to resign. This took place the day after midterms, when Sessions gave his resignation letter to President Trump. According to the Washington Post, in his letter, Sessions said that he “worked to implement the law enforcement agenda based on the rule of law that formed a central part of your campaign for the presidency.” Despite the similarities between their political ideals, Sessions support for the Mueller investigation was ultimately too much of a controversy between the two.

Trump’s decided replacement, currently acting, is Matthew Whittaker.  He served directly under Sessions as the Department of Justice’s Chief of Staff. Whitaker served as a U.S. Attorney during the Bush Presidency and served as Chief of Staff to Sessions from September 2017 to November 2018. Whittaker has shown similar conservative beliefs to both Trump and Sessions. He is an evangelical Christian who opposes illegal immigration and the Affordable Care Act.