2017 dismissal of U.S. attorneys

On March 10, 2017, Jeff Sessions, who was appointed United States attorney general by President Donald Trump, requested the resignations of 46 United States attorneys. Some resignations were declined by Sessions or Trump. Media outlets described Sessions' move as abrupt and unexpected but not unprecedented. When a new president enters office, many sitting U.S. attorneys typically depart on their own initiative before their term in office has concluded, or are asked to resign. The other 47 U.S. attorney posts were either already vacant by the end of Barack Obama's administration or the incumbent U.S. attorney had resigned at the beginning of Trump's administration.

Similarly, in February 2021, 56 Trump-era attorneys were asked to resign by the end of the month during the Biden administration and, in February 2025, all remaining Biden-era attorneys were fired during the second Trump administration.