ExecutiveOrdersEO
EO 13557Executive OrderObama · D

Executive Order 13557

Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Justice

This executive order establishes a line of succession for the Attorney General position, designating three specific U.S. Attorneys to serve in order if the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, Associate Attorney General, and other designated officers are unable to serve. It revokes the previous succession order from 2008 and preserves presidential discretion to depart from this list.

Federal Register Open PDF 75 FR 68679

Impact dates

  1. EO effective; Executive Order 13481 revoked

Key directives

  • Establish order of succession: U.S. Attorney EDVA, then U.S. Attorney D. Minn., then U.S. Attorney D. Ariz.
  • Exclude acting officers from succession by virtue of acting service
  • Require eligibility under Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998
  • Preserve presidential discretion to depart from this order
  • Revoke Executive Order 13481 of December 9, 2008

Timeline

Immediate

  • Revocation of Executive Order 13481
  • New succession order takes effect

Near term (90d)

—

Long term

  • Standing succession protocol for DOJ leadership vacancies

Risks & tensions

  • Unusual selection of U.S. Attorneys rather than DOJ headquarters officials for succession
  • Potential geographic/political considerations in district selection (flag: text does not state rationale)
  • Presidential discretion clause (Sec. 2(c)) limits predictability of actual succession
Executive Order 13557: Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Justice · Executive Orders