Attorney Generals (AGs) are generally elected by their state’s citizens; in other instances, however, an AG may be appointed by either their governor or another state body.
Presidents can have the authority to fire an Attorney General; however, this can often prove challenging and some have even opted out rather than face potential termination.
Term Limits
Terms for attorney generals vary between states. Many limit them to four years while other don’t impose any. Some require them to be licensed attorneys while others don’t mandate this requirement.
Constitutionally, Presidents may at any time remove an Attorney General. Yet no sitting President has ever fired one they had nominated to office and received Senate approval for. Most Attorney Generals who leave do so voluntarily.
South Dakota senators impeached and removed Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg for his involvement in a fatal car crash involving pedestrian Joe Boever; Ravnsborg claimed not knowing until morning that someone had been struck while driving and claimed not having known about this until morning either. Their conduct was found grossly inconsistent with both his duties as Attorney General as well as those of United States citizenry.
Resignation
Attorney generals often voluntarily step down when controversy threatens their or the office’s standing. This often occurs following allegations which could damage either reputation.
New York State Attorney General Barbara Rollins decided to resign in 2020 after her personal and political life were implicated in a corruption scandal. An investigation concluded that her political activities violated laws prohibiting using government vehicles for campaign purposes.
In 2022, she lost her reelection bid against Democratic opponent Keith Wofford due to his own real estate fraud scheme scandal; Wofford later pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy charges for being part of it.
At times, presidents request the resignation of their attorney general. For instance, Ulysses Grant asked Ebenezer Hoar to step down in 1870 while Harry Truman asked Howard McGrath resign in 1952 – both men did. A similar situation took place with President Richard Nixon, when Elliot Richardson refused to fire Archibald Cox during Watergate special prosecutor proceedings.
Removal by the President
Courts generally have not limited the President’s authority to dismiss executives branch officials. “Early laws and practices made clear, if all executive power vested in the President by virtue of his constitutional role, then there can be no limits or barriers on his removal ability from government,” note Aditya Bamzai and Saikrishna Prakash in their recent Harvard Law Review article.
The Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution’s requirement that “all civil Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for Treason, Bribery or Other High Crimes and Misdemeanors” to mean that President has broad discretion to dismiss any officer who violates constitutional mandate. See Free Enter. Fund, 561 U.S. at 513-14 (Breyer J dissenting). While Congress may pass laws to limit this power further, “[t]he separation of powers guarantees[ a general discretion to dismiss heads of agencies at will”).
But when it comes to attorney general positions, things become more intricate. While the President can appoint or replace someone in that role, he or she cannot stop Robert Mueller from investigating potential misconduct in their government.
Removal by the Senate
The President is authorized to dismiss any executive officer for just cause, according to existing case law. Courts have held that this power lies within his duty “to oversee faithful execution of laws.”
Removal of an independent counsel may be reviewed on appeal in the same manner as civil proceedings. Section 600.9(a) requires the Attorney General to submit to the chairs and ranking minority members of both House Judiciary Committees a report with facts found and ultimate grounds for removal; division of court can make such reports public unless attorney General determines otherwise to protect individual’s rights or prevent interference with ongoing prosecutions.
Senators serve as jurors at a special trial to decide whether an attorney general should be removed for alleged misconduct, unlike most state officials who can only be removed after an impeachment trial and Senate approval.
