Sessions appoints U.S. attorneys to replace some forced out

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday named 17 interim U.S. attorneys to temporarily take the place of some of the dozens of Obama administration holdovers he ordered to resign last year.

Sessions was facing a deadline. The vacancies had been temporarily filled by prosecutors who are permitted to serve in that position for just 300 days. The White House still hasn’t nominated anyone to serve permanently as top prosecutor in each of the 17 districts, including the high-profile Southern District of New York, which encompasses Manhattan, site of Trump Tower and other properties owned by President Donald Trump and his family.

The appointments, while temporary, could put the interim appointees in strong positions to be tapped for the permanent slots. Sessions in March sought resignation letters from 46 U.S. attorneys who were Obama appointees, including Preet Bharara, the highprofile Manhattan federal prosecutor who was fired after refusing to step down with the others. Attention has focused on who will replace Bharara, given Trump’s interest in the district. Sessions named Geoffrey S. Berman, who emerged early on as the Trump administration’s candidate. He worked as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District in the 1990s and is now a law partner of former New York Mayor and Trump ally Rudy Giuliani.