United States Attorney General

United States Attorney General
Seal of the Department of Justice
Flag of the United States Attorney General
Incumbent James McHenry Acting  since January 20, 2025
United States Department of Justice
Style	Mr. Attorney General (informal) The Honorable (formal)
Member of	Cabinet National Security Council Homeland Security Council
Reports to	President
Seat	Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building Washington, D.C.
Appointer	President with Senate advice and consent
Term length	No fixed term
Constituting instrument	28 U.S.C. § 503
Formation	September 26, 1789
First holder	Edmund Randolph
Succession	Seventh[1]
Deputy	Deputy Attorney General
Salary	Executive Schedule, Level I[2]
Website	www.justice.gov/ag

The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government. The attorney general acts as the principal legal advisor to the president of the United States on all legal matters. The attorney general is also a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States and a member of the United States National Security Council. Additionally, the attorney general is seventh in the presidential line of succession.

Under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution, the officeholder is nominated by the president of the United States, and, following a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, will take office if confirmed by the majority of the full United States Senate. The attorney general is supported by the Office of the Attorney General, which includes executive staff and several deputy attorneys general.

On January 20, 2025, President Donald J. Trump named James McHenry as acting attorney general, pending Pam Bondi's Senate confirmation.^[3]

The attorney general is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule and thus earns the salary prescribed for that level: $250,600, as of January 2025.