# United States Deputy Attorney General

The United States deputy attorney general is the second-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice and oversees the day-to-day operation of the department. The deputy attorney general acts as attorney general during the absence of the attorney general.
The deputy attorney general is a political appointee of the president of the United States and takes office after confirmation by the United States Senate. The position was created in 1950.

## List of United States deputy attorneys general

| # | Name | Term began | Term ended | President(s) served under |
| 1 | Peyton Ford | May 24, 1950 | 1951 | Harry S. Truman |
| 2 | A. Devitt Vanech | 1951 | 1952 | Harry S. Truman |
| 3 | Ross L. Malone | 1952 | January 20, 1953 | Harry S. Truman |
| 4 | William P. Rogers | January 20, 1953 | October 23, 1957 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| 5 | Lawrence Walsh | December 29, 1957 | January 20, 1961 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| 6 | Byron White | January 20, 1961 | April 16, 1962 | John F. Kennedy |
| 7 | Nicholas Katzenbach | April 16, 1962 | January 28, 1965 | John F. Kennedy |
| 7 | Nicholas Katzenbach | April 16, 1962 | January 28, 1965 | John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson |
| 8 | Ramsey Clark | January 28, 1965 | March 10, 1967 | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| 9 | Warren Christopher | March 10, 1967 | January 20, 1969 | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| 10 | Richard Kleindienst | January 20, 1969 | June 12, 1972 | Richard Nixon |
| 11 | Ralph E. Erickson | 1972 | 1973 | Richard Nixon |
| 12 | Joseph Sneed | February 1973 | July 9, 1973 | Richard Nixon |
| 13 | William Ruckelshaus | July 9, 1973 | October 20, 1973 | Richard Nixon |
| 14 | Laurence Silberman | January 20, 1974 | April 6, 1975 | Richard Nixon Gerald Ford |
| 15 | Harold R. Tyler, Jr. | April 6, 1975 | January 20, 1977 | Gerald Ford |
| 16 | Peter F. Flaherty | April 12, 1977 | December 9, 1977 | Jimmy Carter |
| 17 | Benjamin Civiletti | May 16, 1978 | August 16, 1979 | Jimmy Carter |
| Acting | Charles Ruff | August 16, 1979 | February 27, 1980 | Jimmy Carter |
| 18 | Charles Byron Renfrew | February 27, 1980 | January 20, 1981 | Jimmy Carter |
| 19 | Edward C. Schmults | 1981 | February 3, 1984 | Ronald Reagan |
| 20 | Carol E. Dinkins | May 23, 1984 | 1985 | Ronald Reagan |
| 21 | D. Lowell Jensen | 1985 | June 25, 1986 | Ronald Reagan |
| 22 | Arnold Burns | July 1986 | July 1988 | Ronald Reagan |
| 23 | Harold G. Christensen | July 1988 | May 22, 1989 | Ronald Reagan |
| 24 | Donald B. Ayer | November 1989 | May 11, 1990 | George H. W. Bush |
| 25 | William P. Barr | May 26, 1990 | November 26, 1991 | George H. W. Bush |
| 26 | George Terwilliger | November 26, 1991 | January 20, 1993 | George H. W. Bush |
| 27 | Philip Heymann | May 28, 1993 | March 17, 1994 | Bill Clinton |
| 28 | Jamie Gorelick | March 17, 1994 | May 1997 | Bill Clinton |
| 29 | Eric Holder | June 13, 1997 | January 20, 2001 | Bill Clinton |
| Acting | Robert Mueller | January 20, 2001 | May 10, 2001 | George W. Bush |
| 30 | Larry Thompson | May 10, 2001 | August 31, 2003 | George W. Bush |
| 31 | James Comey | November 9, 2003 | August 15, 2005 | George W. Bush |
| Acting | Robert McCallum, Jr. | August 15, 2005 | March 17, 2006 | George W. Bush |
| 32 | Paul McNulty | March 17, 2006 | July 26, 2007 | George W. Bush |
| Acting | Craig S. Morford | July 26, 2007 | March 10, 2008 | George W. Bush |
| 33 | Mark Filip | March 10, 2008 | January 20, 2009 | George W. Bush |
| 34 | David W. Ogden | March 12, 2009 | February 5, 2010 | Barack Obama |
| Acting | Gary Grindler | February 5, 2010 | December 29, 2010 | Barack Obama |
| 35 | James M. Cole | December 29, 2010 | January 8, 2015 | Barack Obama |
| 36 | Sally Yates | January 10, 2015 | January 30, 2017 | Barack Obama |
| 36 | Sally Yates | January 10, 2015 | January 30, 2017 | Barack Obama Donald Trump |
| Acting | Dana Boente | February 9, 2017 | April 25, 2017 | Donald Trump |
| 37 | Rod Rosenstein | April 26, 2017 | May 11, 2019 | Donald Trump |
| Acting | Ed O'Callaghan | May 13, 2019 | May 22, 2019 | Donald Trump |
| 38 | Jeffrey A. Rosen | May 22, 2019 | December 23, 2020 | Donald Trump |
| Acting | Richard Donoghue | December 24, 2020 | January 20, 2021 | Donald Trump |
| Acting | John P. Carlin | January 21, 2021 | April 21, 2021 | Joe Biden |
| 39 | Lisa Monaco | April 21, 2021 | January 20, 2025 | Joe Biden |
| Acting | Emil Bove | January 20, 2025 | March 6, 2025 | Donald Trump |
| 40 | Todd Blanche | March 6, 2025 | Incumbent | Donald Trump |