The AP and Reuters are reporting that Attorney General Jeff Sessions is asking for the resignations of 46 US Attorneys that remain from the Obama administration:
BREAKING: Attorney General Jeff Sessions seeks resignation of 46 United States attorneys remaining from prior administration.
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) March 10, 2017
JUST IN: Attorney General Sessions asks remaining 46 U.S. attorneys appointed by Obama to tender resignations – DOJ. https://t.co/yvZcqlTwij
— Reuters Politics (@ReutersPolitics) March 10, 2017
NEW: AG Sessions asks 46 remaining US attorneys to step down as part of transition; practice has been used in some previous administrations.
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) March 10, 2017
Talk about clearing out the swamp.
But I can almost guarantee you that this will be the next big scandal in the media, just like it was for Bush 43. So put your seatbelts on.
Also I’ll update with more on this when we get it…
UPDATE: The White House is confirming:
Breaking: All U.S. attorneys have been asked to submit resignation letters, per a senior W.H. official
— Robert Costa (@costareports) March 10, 2017
UPDATE: Here’s more from Reuters:
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has asked the remaining 46 chief federal prosecutors appointed by President Barack Obama who have not already resigned to do so “in order to ensure a uniform transition,” the Justice Department said on Friday.
“Until the new U.S. attorneys are confirmed, the dedicated career prosecutors in our U.S. attorney’s offices will continue the great work of the department in investigating, prosecuting, and deterring the most violent offenders,” it said in a statement.
It is routine for a new president to appoint his own U.S. attorneys, who are political appointees.
Maybe the media won’t turn this into a scandal. But given their track record so far this year, I’m not holding my breath.