LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Republican Bill Essayli is not legally serving as the top U.S. prosecutor in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
The ruling is the latest roadblock to the Trump administration\u2019s effort to extend handpicked acting U.S. attorneys<\/a> beyond the 120-day limit set by federal law. The strategy was designed to bypass confirmation by the U.S. Senate \u2014 something that generally requires a degree of bipartisan support.<\/p>\n Essayli \u201cis unlawfully serving as a \u2018de facto\u2019 United States Attorney,\u201d U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright wrote.<\/p>\n The order won\u2019t take effect until the court rules on the government\u2019s motion for a stay pending appeal. Essayli said he doesn\u2019t agree with the court\u2019s order. He said the president and Attorney General \u201chave every right to select supervisors within the Justice Department.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, this question will be decided by the Supreme Court, and I look forward to serving in my current role until then,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n The former state lawmaker was appointed by the Trump administration last year to serve as Acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, which includes Los Angeles. Just before the 120-day mark, then-U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed him as First Assistant U.S. Attorney.<\/p>\n But in October 2025, Seabright disqualified Essayli from overseeing several criminal cases, concluding he had stayed in the temporary job longer than allowed by law. He was allowed to continue to serve as a First Assistant U.S. attorney.<\/p>\n The administration never appointed another acting U.S. attorney, effectively making Essayli the top prosecutor. He\u2019s been a face of the administration\u2019s sparring with California on everything from alleged health care fraud to recent claims of widespread noncitizen voting. California has pushed back on federal efforts to prevent election officials from counting ballots of up to 20,000 people<\/a> the Trump administration suspects are not U.S. citizens.<\/p>\n