President Biden’s Department of Justice plans to this week ask for the resignation of the vast majority of U.S. attorneys appointed during the Trump administration, CNN first reported on Monday night.
Why it matters: The move is expected to affect 56 attorneys confirmed by the Senate.
Details: The process that’s expected to begin as early as Tuesday is set to take weeks, according to CNN.
- Two attorneys who will not immediately be asked to resign are John Durham and David Weiss, multiple outlets reported.
- Durham, who is overseeing an investigation into the origins of the probe into Trump’s dealings with Russia, will continue in this role but resign from his position as U.S. attorney in Connecticut, per Bloomberg.
- Weiss, who is leading an investigation into the taxes of Hunter Biden, the president’s son, will also stay on, according to NBC News.
Flashback: In 2017, the Trump administration asked the 46 remaining Obama-era U.S. federal prosecutors to resign.
For the record: Biden has picked Judge Merrick Garland to be the U.S. attorney general.
- His confirmation hearing was due to begin this week, but Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the leading Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, rejected that request, citing the date coinciding with Trump’s impeachment trial.
- The DOJ did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
