1. United States
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  3. Letter

An Open Letter

To: Sen. Padilla, Sen. Schiff, Rep. Thompson

From: A constituent in Davis, CA

July 23

The Justice Department’s decision to fire a judge-appointed U.S. Attorney and reinstate Trump’s preferred pick, without Senate confirmation, isn’t just unusual. It’s a direct attack on the separation of powers that defines American democracy. Here’s why this matters. Our government was designed with three separate branches(executive, legislative, and judicial) each with its own role to prevent abuse. In this case, federal law clearly states that when a temporary U.S. Attorney’s term expires and the Senate hasn’t confirmed a replacement, federal judges have the authority to appoint someone to fill the role. That’s exactly what happened: the judges followed the law and appointed Desiree Leigh Grace. But instead of respecting that legal process, the Trump administration fired Grace and reinstalled Alina Habba, even though the Senate never confirmed her. This isn’t just a bureaucratic reshuffle. It’s the president asserting that he(and he alone) gets to decide who prosecutes federal crimes, regardless of what the law or the courts say. That’s not Article II authority. That’s executive overreach. If this stands, it opens the door for any president to ignore judicial checks and install political loyalists across the justice system without oversight. It means the courts can be overridden when they get in the way. That’s not how our system is supposed to work, and it sets a dangerous precedent for authoritarian control over the rule of law. This URGENTLY needs to be addressed.

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