Rod Rosenstein

**Rod Jay Rosenstein** (; born January 13, 1965) is an American attorney who served as the 37th United States deputy attorney general from 2017 to 2019. Prior to his appointment, he served as a United States attorney for the District of Maryland. At the time of his confirmation as deputy attorney general in April 2017, he was the longest-serving U.S. attorney. Rosenstein had also been nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in 2007, but his nomination was never considered by the U.S. Senate.

## Early life and education

Rosenstein was born in 1965 to an Ashkenazi Jewish family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, Robert, ran a small business, while his mother, Gerri Rosenstein, was a bookkeeper and local school board president. Rod grew up in Lower Moreland Township, Pennsylvania. His sister, Nancy Messonnier, is a physician who was the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2016 to 2021.

Rosenstein went to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science, _summa cum laude_, in economics and Phi Beta Kappa membership. He then went to Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the _Harvard Law Review_ and graduated in 1989 with a Juris Doctor, _cum laude_.

## First Trump administration

President Donald Trump nominated Rosenstein to serve as Deputy Attorney General on February 1, 2017. Rosenstein was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 25, 2017. In May 2017, at Trump's behest, he authored a memo that Trump then cited as the basis for his decision to dismiss FBI Director James Comey.

In May 2018, Rosenstein reportedly told the five U.S. Attorneys in districts along the border with Mexico, where refugees were concerned, that they should not "be categorically declining immigration prosecutions of adults in family units because of the age of a child." The directive, issued as part of the Trump administration family separation policy, led to the separation of thousands of small children from their parents, many of whom were seeking asylum in the United States after fleeing violence in Central America.

Following the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Comey's dismissal, Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate the myriad links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies and related matters. Rosenstein previously assumed authority over the parallel FBI probe after Sessions recused himself over misleading remarks he made to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary during his confirmation process. _The New York Times_ reported Rosenstein prevented the FBI and Mueller from investigating Trump's personal and financial dealings in Russia. On November 7, 2018, Trump transferred this oversight to acting United States Attorney General Matthew Whitaker. Following the resignation of Jeff Sessions as United States Attorney General at the request of President Donald Trump, Rosenstein also served as acting United States Attorney General in his capacity as United States Deputy Attorney General for a few hours on November 7, 2018, pursuant to , until Trump signed an executive order naming Matthew Whitaker as acting United States Attorney General later that day.

Rosenstein submitted his resignation as deputy attorney general on April 29, 2019, which took effect on May 11, 2019. In 2020, he joined the law firm King & Spalding as a partner in its "Special Matters and Government Investigations" practice.

## Personal life

Rosenstein is married to Lisa Barsoomian, an Armenian American lawyer who worked for the National Institutes of Health until 2011. They have two daughters.

Rosenstein is a registered Republican.

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **name**: Rod Rosenstein
- **image**: Rod Rosenstein official portrait 2.jpg
- **caption**: Official portrait, 2019
- **office**: 37th United States Deputy Attorney General
- **president**: Donald Trump
- **term start**: April 26, 2017
- **term end**: May 11, 2019
- **predecessor**: Sally Yates
- **successor**: Jeffrey A. Rosen
- **office1**: Acting United States Attorney General
- **president1**: Donald Trump
- **term1**: November 7, 2018
- **deputy1**: _Himself_
- **predecessor1**: Jeff Sessions
- **successor1**: Matthew Whitaker (acting)
- **office2**: United States Attorney for the District of Maryland
- **president2**: George W. Bush
Barack Obama
Donald Trump
- **term start2**: July 12, 2005
- **term end2**: April 26, 2017
- **predecessor2**: Thomas M. DiBiagio
- **successor2**: Robert K. Hur
- **birth name**: Rod Jay Rosenstein
- **birth place**: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
- **party**: Republican Party (United States), Republican
- **spouse**: Lisa Barsoomian
- **children**: 2
- **relatives**: Nancy Messonnier (sister)
- **education**: University of Pennsylvania (Bachelor of Science, BS)
Harvard University (Juris Doctor, JD)
- **signature**: Rod Jay Rosenstein SVG.svg