How long (weeks, months) can the new Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker

[no_hypocrisy]

serve before Trump has to nominate a permanent replacement?

[FarPoint]

1. 11 months I believe he can serve....

He will be under indictment before that....Obstruction of Justice...may have his law license suspended by then...

[duforsure]

3. I agree

If he does anything trump tells him to do he'll end up in prison for it. Just like many others who've been doing what he wants regardless of the law. He doesn't strike me as that bright of a person so it won't take him long to ensure his being included when justice is served.

[LincolnRossiter]

2. 210 days under the vacancies act. I also don't believe he's required to immediately step aside after

a rejection or withdrawal of his nomination. If Kiebler had forced Trump to fire him, this wouldn't have been the situation.

[drray23]

4. He cant be the nominee.

The federal register vacancy act forbids it. It explicitly states that it is up to 210 days and that person cant be the nominee.

[LincolnRossiter]

5. Thanks for the clarification. The Vacancies Reform Act and its supercession of the AG's Succession

Act and apparently a good bit of case law makes this all so confusing. I'm reading some opinions that if Whitaker steps down or takes a subordinate position, he can theoretically be appointed, but that can be challenged. Or if someone else is nominated and fails, he can continue on as acting for a number of months. The lawmakers who passed some of these laws and the courts interpreting them apparently never anticipated a president with the disregard for convention, stability, and regular order that Trump has. This is going to be a shit show--especially if he moves on Mueller.

Even that, thankfully, could be challenged.