Nominations Sent to the Senate

A United States Attorney is the top federal prosecutor in a judicial district. Their main responsibilities are:

• Representing the federal government in court: prosecuting federal crimes (like drug trafficking, fraud, public corruption) and defending the U.S. in civil lawsuits.
• Enforcing federal law locally: deciding which federal cases to bring, what charges to file, and how to handle plea deals.
• Leading the local U.S. Attorney’s Office: supervising assistant U.S. attorneys and staff, and setting enforcement priorities in that district under Department of Justice policies. They act as the chief federal law‑enforcement lawyer for their region, not as a personal lawyer for the President or any party.

A United States District Judge is a federal trial judge. Their core duties are:

• Managing and deciding federal trial‑level cases: both criminal (e.g., federal drug, gun, fraud, immigration, or civil‑rights crimes) and civil (e.g., lawsuits about federal laws or the U.S. government, disputes between people or businesses from different states, constitutional challenges).
• Overseeing trials and hearings: ruling on evidence, instructing juries, deciding motions, and in many civil cases issuing final decisions without a jury.
• Interpreting and applying federal law and the Constitution in their district. U.S. district courts are the general trial courts of the federal system, where most federal cases start.

• U.S. Attorneys: By law they are appointed for a fixed term of four years, but they can continue serving until a successor is confirmed, and they serve at the pleasure of the President (they can be asked to resign earlier). • U.S. District Judges: They are Article III judges and, once confirmed, hold office “during good behavior,” which in practice means a lifetime appointment unless they resign, retire, die, or are removed by impeachment and conviction.

In these nomination lines, “vice” is old legal/official wording meaning “in place of” or “to succeed.” So “Daniel E. Burrows … to be an Assistant Attorney General, vice Aaron Reitz, resigned” means Burrows is nominated to fill the job previously held by Aaron Reitz, who resigned.

Typical Senate process for these nominations:

1. Referral to committee: After the President sends a nomination, it is sent to the relevant committee (usually the Senate Judiciary Committee for U.S. Attorneys, district judges, and Assistant Attorneys General).
2. Background review and hearings: The committee reviews the nominee’s records, gets FBI and ethics checks, and often holds a public hearing where the nominee answers questions.
3. Committee vote: The committee votes to report the nomination to the full Senate (favorably, unfavorably, or without recommendation) or can choose not to act.
4. Full Senate consideration: The Majority Leader schedules floor debate and a confirmation vote. Senators may allow quick approval by unanimous consent or require debate and a cloture vote, especially for more controversial nominees.
5. Confirmation: A simple majority vote confirms the nominee. Timeline: There is no fixed deadline. Some nominees are confirmed in a few weeks; others take months or may never get a final vote, depending on politics, Senate workload, and controversy level.

These labels describe why the previous office‑holder left:

• “Retired”: The person stopped working in that role, usually after reaching retirement eligibility.
• “Resigned”: The person voluntarily stepped down before the end of their term.
• “Term expired”: A fixed legal term (such as a 4‑year term for a U.S. Attorney) ended. In all three situations, the job becomes vacant and is filled the same basic way: the President nominates a new person and the Senate considers whether to confirm them. The label does not change the formal nomination‑and‑confirmation process, though it can affect whether temporary or “acting” officials serve in the role while the seat is empty and what specific vacancy‑filling statute applies.

An Assistant Attorney General (AAG) is a senior Department of Justice official who leads one of DOJ’s major divisions or offices (for example, the Criminal Division, Civil Division, Antitrust Division, Office of Legal Counsel, etc.). While the specific portfolio for Daniel E. Burrows is not named in the announcement, in general an AAG:

• Oversees nationwide policy and litigation strategy for their division’s subject area (e.g., criminal enforcement, civil lawsuits involving the U.S., antitrust enforcement, legal advice on constitutional questions).
• Supervises division lawyers and staff and sets enforcement or advisory priorities under the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General.
• Represents DOJ leadership in high‑level policy discussions and, in some divisions, approves major investigations or legal positions. This differs from U.S. Attorneys, who:
• Run individual local U.S. Attorney’s Offices in specific federal districts and act as the chief federal prosecutor there.
• Focus mainly on bringing and defending cases in their district, rather than setting nationwide DOJ policy. So an AAG is a D.C.-based national division head; a U.S. Attorney is the top local federal prosecutor for a geographic district.