Attorney General Jeff Sessions today announced the appointment of 17 federal prosecutors as Interim United States Attorneys pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 546. In a number of United States Attorney’s Offices across the country, First Assistant United States Attorneys are currently serving as Acting United States Attorneys under the Vacancies Reform Act. However, on Jan. 4, 2018, some of those Acting United States Attorneys will have served the maximum amount of time permitted under the Act. The appointments announced by the Attorney General today fill these vacancies.



“United States Attorneys lead federal prosecutions across this country, taking deadly drugs and criminals off of our streets and protecting the safety of law-abiding people, as well as representing the United States in civil litigation.” said Attorney General Sessions. “As a former U.S. Attorney myself, I have seen firsthand the impact that these prosecutors have and it is critical to have U.S. Attorneys in place during this time of rising violent crime, a staggering increase in homicides, and an unprecedented drug crisis."



“That is why, today, I am appointing 17 current and former federal prosecutors to serve as U.S. Attorneys on an interim basis. Each has excellent prosecution skills and the temperament necessary to succeed in this critical role—and they have already proven that with a number of accomplishments on behalf of the American people. I want to thank them for stepping up to take this difficult but noble job. I also want to thank those First Assistant United States Attorneys who temporarily stepped up to lead their offices as Acting U.S. Attorneys and who are now returning to their roles as First Assistants.”



The Attorney General has appointed the following individuals to serve as Interim United States Attorneys:



Shawn Anderson – Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands

Geoffrey Berman – Southern District of New York

Gregory Brooker – District of Minnesota

Craig Carpenito – District of New Jersey

Stephen Dambruch – District of Rhode Island

Richard Donoghue – Eastern District of New York

Dayle Elieson – District of Nevada

Duane Evans – Eastern District of Louisiana

Timothy Garrison – Western District of Missouri

Nick Hanna – Central District of California

Joseph Harrington – Eastern District of Washington

Grant Jaquith – Northern District of New York

Maria Chapa Lopez – Middle District of Florida

Kenji Price – District of Hawaii

Matthew Schneider – Eastern District of Michigan

Gretchen Shappert – District of the Virgin Islands

Alexander Van Hook – Western District of Louisiana