passed the Judiciary Act of 1789 which, among other things, established the Office of the Attorney General. The original duties of this officer were "to prosecute and conduct all suits in the Supreme Court in which the United States shall be concerned, and to give his advice and opinion upon questions of law when required by the president of the United States, or when requested by the heads of any of the departments". The Department of Justice was established in 1870 to support the attorneys general in the discharge of their responsibilities. The attorney general, the Secretary of state, the secretary of the treasury, and the secretary of defense are generally regarded as the four most important Cabinet officials in the United States because of the significance and age of their respective departments. The title "Attorney General" is an example of a noun followed by a postpositive adjective. "General" is a description of the type of attorney, not a title or rank in itself. Even though the attorney general is often referred to as "General" or "General " by senior government officials, this is considered incorrect in standard American English usage. For the same reason, the correct American English plural form is "attorneys general" rather than "attorney generals."
Presidential transition
It is the practice for the attorney general, along with the other Cabinet secretaries and high-level political appointees of the president, to give resignation with effect on the Inauguration Day of a new president. The deputy attorney general, who is also expected to tender their resignation, is commonly requested to stay on and act as Attorney General pending the confirmation by the Senate of the new attorney general. For example, on the inauguration of President Donald Trump on January 20, 2017, the then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch left her position, so the then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, who had also tendered her resignation, was asked to stay on to serve as Acting Attorney General until the confirmation of the new attorney general Jeff Sessions, who had been nominated for the office in November 2016 by then-President-elect Donald Trump.
List of attorneys general
; Parties
; Status
Living former U.S. attorneys general
As of, there are ten living former US attorneys general, the oldest being Ramsey Clark. The most recent attorney general to die was Janet Reno on November 7, 2016. William Barr, who served from 1991–1993, returned to the post and is currently serving, excluding him from this list.
Name
Term of office
Date of birth
Ramsey Clark
1967–1969
Benjamin Civiletti
1979–1981
Edwin Meese
1985–1988
Dick Thornburgh
1988–1991
John Ashcroft
2001–2005
Alberto Gonzales
2005–2007
Michael Mukasey
2007–2009
Eric Holder
2009–2015
Loretta Lynch
2015–2017
Jefferson Sessions
2017–2018
Line of succession
, §508 establishes the first two positions in the line of succession, while allowing the attorney general to designate other high-ranking officers of the Department of Justice as subsequent successors. Furthermore, an Executive Order defines subsequent positions, the most recent from March 31, 2017, signed by President Donald Trump. The current line of succession is:
