A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, is "unlawfully serving" in his position — exposing an executive branch workaround that lets presidents install loyal prosecutors without the Senate confirmation the Constitution demands.
The ruling strikes at a practice both parties have exploited: appointing acting U.S. attorneys, then shuffling job titles when the 120-day legal clock runs out. Judge J. Michael Seabright found that the Trump administration's maneuvering to keep Essayli in power violated federal law — and a prior appellate ruling that found the same scheme unlawful in Nevada.
Essayli, a former Republican state lawmaker, was appointed as interim U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California in April 2025. When his interim window closed, the administration gave him an "acting" title, then shifted him to "first assistant" after a judge already ruled he was unlawfully serving as U.S. attorney. The administration never appointed another acting U.S. attorney, leaving Essayli effectively running the office anyway.
Seabright wrote that then-Attorney General Pam Bondi's appointment of Essayli as a special attorney and first assistant "is identical" to her appointment of Sigal Chattah in Nevada — which the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals already deemed improper in August. A revised designation by current AG Todd Blanche didn't fix the problem. Seabright found "nothing in the revised designation order materially distinguishes it" from the unlawful Chattah arrangement.
The order won't take effect immediately; the court must first rule on the government's motion for a stay pending appeal.
"We respectfully disagree with the court's order," Essayli said in a statement. "The President and the Attorney General have every right to select supervisors within the Justice Department. Ultimately, this question will be decided by the Supreme Court, and I look forward to serving in my current role until then."
Defense attorney H. Dean Steward, who challenged Essayli's position, called the decision "a victory for the rule of law and the US constitution," telling the LA Times: "The Trump administration ignored the laws governing the appointment of US attorneys and got caught in Los Angeles."
Essayli isn't alone. Judges have disqualified interim U.S. attorneys in New Jersey — Trump's former personal lawyer Alina Habba — and the Northern District of New York — John Sarcone — on similar grounds. The pattern is clear: the executive branch keeps finding new titles to park its people past the statutory deadline, and the courts keep saying no.
Essayli has made headlines prosecuting cases aligned with the administration's priorities — targeting illegal immigration enforcement, going after protesters, and alleging thousands of noncitizens are registered to vote in California. State election officials have forcefully pushed back on those voter fraud claims.
The constitutional question now barreling toward the Supreme Court: can the executive branch indefinitely bypass the Senate's advice-and-consent role by relabeling people, or does the statute mean what it says? How the justices answer will determine whether any president — of either party — is bound by the confirmation process at all.
