The Trump DOJ just asked the Supreme Court to bless a staffing trick three appeals courts have already called illegal: parking political allies as U.S. attorneys without Senate confirmation. Target #1 — Nevada’s Sigal Chattah. Reuters, 9 September 2026.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer says the August 9th Circuit smackdown (plus similar 2nd and 3rd Circuit losses) conflicts with the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, risks “chaos,” and could confuse five Ninth Circuit U.S. Attorney’s Offices handling 8,000+ cases a year. Translation: please let us keep the workaround.
The primary opinion (United States v. Jackson, filed 17 August 2026) is blunt: you cannot make someone Acting U.S. Attorney by labeling them “first assistant” to an office that’s already vacant, and you cannot invent a de facto Acting U.S. Attorney by dumping every U.S. Attorney power onto one person. Panel affirmed Chattah’s disqualification from three prosecutions; defendants’ bid to kill the indictments got bounced for lack of appellate jurisdiction.
Her path, via Reuters: interim under 28 U.S.C. § 546 (late March 2025, 120-day clock), then First Assistant / acting redesignation as the clock ran out. Nevada federal public defenders sued. Court caption: United States v. Jackson, No. 26-304.