Across the country, President Trump has installed handpicked loyalists as top federal prosecutors. Several have been pushed out after legal battles because they lack Senate confirmation to serve as U.S. attorneys. <\/p>\n
But in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli wields the power of a top prosecutor under a lesser title: \u201cfirst assistant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Essayli clocked his first full year in office this week. He has survived the kinds of challenges that sunk Trump picks in other states through a combination of legal gamesmanship by the U.S. Department of Justice and a lack of action by judges in the Central District of California.<\/p>\n
Essayli has used his position to act as one of Trump\u2019s fiercest legal foot soldiers. He has pursued criminal charges against protesters, activists and immigrants while dropping cases involving administration allies and supporting lawsuits over transgender and environmental policies in California.<\/p>\n
After Trump\u2019s firing Thursday of U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi, it\u2019s unclear how her replacement will handle continuing battles over the legality of Trump\u2019s appointees. Essayli is popular with high-level administration officials, and received a congratulatory post on X from Vice President JD Vance over the filing of fraud cases earlier this week.<\/a> <\/p>\n A conservative former state Assembly member from Riverside County, Essayli, 40, was sworn in as interim U.S. attorney last April. Around the time he hit that role\u2019s 120-day limit, Bondi made him a \u201cspecial attorney\u201d and designated him \u201cfirst assistant.\u201d A federal judge later disqualified Essayli as acting U.S. attorney, finding he was \u201cnot lawfully serving\u201d in the top role. But the judge said he had no authority to undo Essayli\u2019s designation as first assistant. With no one above him in the office, that title leaves Essayli as the de facto U.S. attorney. <\/p>\n In other jurisdictions, members of the federal bench have exercised their authority to appoint an interim U.S. attorney. Chief U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee\u2019s chambers did not respond to a request for comment about why no similar action has been taken in L.A.<\/p>\n A court spokesman declined to comment. Essayli did not respond to a request for comment. The White House referred questions to the Justice Department. <\/p>\n A Justice Department spokesperson issued a statement that praised Essayli for prosecuting \u201cdrug cartels and transnational criminal organizations, sex traffickers, violent street gangs, leftist rioters and domestic terrorists, fraudsters, and child predators.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a disservice to our prosecutors and the American people when judges prevent the President and the Attorney General from installing qualified and capable prosecutors who will aggressively enforce our laws and make America safe again,\u201d the Justice Department spokesperson said.<\/p>\n