A US judge ruled on Tuesday that Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in southern California, was “unlawfully serving” as the head of the US attorney’s office and was disqualified from overseeing two criminal prosecutions.
The order, however, will not immediately go into effect, and the Department of Justice (DoJ) has said it intends to appeal.
The ruling was part of a long-running legal battle challenging the Trump administration’s maneuvers to keep Essayli in office despite not being confirmed by the US Senate. Essayli, a former Republican state lawmaker and ally of Donald Trump, became an interim US attorney in April 2025, but he was not formally nominated by the president, which allowed him to lead the office without going through the standard confirmation process.
After Essayli’s “interim” appointment ended last July, the Trump administration gave him an “acting” title, then kept him on as a “first assistant” after a judge ruled he was unlawfully serving as US attorney. But in August, a federal appellate court ruled against a Nevada justice department leader in a similar case, and the judge overseeing Essayli’s case cited that higher court’s ruling on Tuesday, issuing another order saying he was still acting unlawfully.
Michael Seabright, the federal judge, said Essayli was illegally serving, even with a “special attorney” and “first assistant” designation by the Trump administration, and the judge said he could no longer participate in or supervise two ongoing prosecutions where the attorneys had challenged his position.
“We respectfully disagree with the court’s order,” Essayli said in a statement on Tuesday. “The President and the Attorney General have every right to select supervisors within the Justice Department.
“Ultimately, this question will be decided by the Supreme Court, and I look forward to serving in my current role until then,” he continued.
H Dean Steward, a defense lawyer who challenged Essayli’s position, called the decision a “victory for the rule of law and the US constitution” in a statement to the LA Times, saying: “The Trump administration ignored the laws governing the appointment of US attorneys and got caught in Los Angeles. Trump and his Department of Justice violated the law again and again in an effort to install minions as chief federal prosecutors.”
Alina Habba, Trump’s former personal lawyer, was similarly disqualified from the top prosecutor job in New Jersey in December, though she stayed on as a senior adviser at the justice department.
Over the last year, Essayli has made headlines by bringing forward cases that align with the Maga agenda, aggressively targeting immigrants for deportations and prosecuting protesters. Most recently, Essayli has launched a campaign against “voter fraud”, alleging that thousands of registered voters in California are “likely non-citizens” and pushing for their ballots to be set aside – efforts that state election officials have forcefully opposed.
