How U.S. Attorneys Get Appointed
With all the cries of "foul" over the U.S. attorney firings, I think it might be helpful for readers to know just how U.S. attorneys are selected.
The job has always been a political plum. The U.S. Attorney is nominated by the President, based on recommendations from the Senators in the particular District. Almost without exception, the appointee is from the President’s political party. When a new President is elected, we get new U.S. Attorneys.
The Assistant U.S. Attorneys get to stay, under civil service rules. They can't be ousted because of political reasons.
The travesty of the current U.S. Attorney firing scandal is not that U.S. Attorneys are being replaced. That is expected after an election, such as the one in 2004. It's that it's happening in 2007.
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