Appeals Court Strikes Down Trump Justice Department’s Nevada Appointment Strategy

Clear Facts

• A federal appeals court ruled that Sigal Chattah was unlawfully serving as Nevada’s top federal prosecutor after her 120-day interim term expired
• The Justice Department attempted to keep Chattah in the role by designating her as first assistant U.S. attorney, but the court found this violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act
• The ruling disqualifies Chattah from supervising three criminal prosecutions and marks another judicial setback for Trump administration efforts to bypass Senate confirmation

A three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a unanimous ruling Monday that undermines the Justice Department’s creative approach to keeping temporary federal prosecutors in place without Senate confirmation. The decision found that Sigal Chattah, who served as Nevada’s Republican National Committee member before joining the Justice Department, could not lawfully continue leading the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada after her interim appointment expired.

Chattah began her role as interim U.S. attorney on April 1, 2025, under standard appointment procedures that allowed her to serve for up to 120 days. When that term neared expiration in late July, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi attempted a strategic maneuver to extend Chattah’s tenure.

Shortly before the 120-day window closed, Chattah resigned from the interim position, and Bondi immediately designated her as first assistant U.S. attorney—the office’s No. 2 position. The Justice Department argued this designation would automatically elevate Chattah to acting U.S. attorney under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, allowing her to continue leading the office while awaiting confirmation of a permanent appointee.

Bondi also appointed Chattah as a special attorney, creating multiple layers of authority the department believed would support her continued service.

Federal public defenders in Nevada challenged this arrangement across multiple unrelated criminal cases, arguing the appointment violated federal law and demanded case dismissals. U.S. District Judge David Campbell sided with the defenders in September, prompting the Trump administration’s appeal.

The appeals panel rejected the Justice Department’s legal reasoning on all counts. Writing for the unanimous court, U.S. Circuit Judge Eric Miller, a Trump appointee, explained the fatal flaw in the government’s position.

“Nor can the Attorney General create a de facto Acting U.S. Attorney by delegating all of the functions and duties of the U.S. Attorney to someone else,” Miller wrote.

The court found that under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act provision the Justice Department relied upon, a first assistant could only automatically assume acting U.S. attorney duties if that person already held the first-assistant position when the vacancy occurred. Chattah did not meet this requirement.

The panel included Judge Miller, U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr., another Trump appointee sitting by designation, and U.S. Circuit Judge Sidney Thomas. The ruling disqualifies Chattah from supervising three criminal prosecutions.

This decision represents the latest judicial roadblock to the Trump administration’s efforts to maintain temporary appointees as top federal prosecutors without Senate confirmation. The issue has become increasingly contentious amid ongoing disputes over the Senate Judiciary Committee’s “blue slip” tradition, which allows home-state senators to obstruct U.S. attorney nominees when the committee chairman honors their objections.

President Trump did not nominate Chattah for the permanent Nevada U.S. attorney position, instead selecting George Kelesis in February 2026. The administration’s broader strategy of using temporary appointments to fill these critical law enforcement positions has now suffered multiple setbacks in federal court.

In December, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a similar ruling, finding that Alina Habba, a former personal lawyer for Trump, was not lawfully serving as acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey and disqualified her from supervising cases.

The pattern of judicial rulings against these appointment mechanisms raises questions about the viability of the Justice Department’s strategy for staffing U.S. attorney positions nationwide. Federal prosecutors wield enormous power over criminal investigations and prosecutions, making their proper appointment under constitutional and statutory requirements essential to the rule of law.

The Federal Vacancies Reform Act was designed to provide temporary continuity in government operations while preventing administrations from indefinitely avoiding the Senate’s constitutional advice-and-consent role. These court decisions affirm that the Act’s provisions cannot be manipulated to circumvent that fundamental check on executive power.

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