Overview

• Under federal vacancy statutes, Essayli can lead the Central District of California for 210 more days without Senate confirmation.
• Pam Bondi appointed him to an interim role in early April, but the White House never forwarded his nomination to the Senate and a judicial panel declined to propose a successor.
• Similar bypass tactics have been employed in New York, New Jersey and Nevada to maintain Trump administration-favored prosecutors as the Senate stalled on confirmations.
• Several veteran prosecutors resigned after Essayli offered a no-jail plea deal to a sheriff’s deputy and secured only seven indictments from nearly 40 protest-related cases.
• Legal experts describe these maneuvers as stretching the Vacancies Reform Act and 28 U.S.C. §546, with ongoing court challenges delaying criminal proceedings in other districts.