Eastern District judges keep Eric Grant in post as US attorney

Chief U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley has sworn in Eric Grant as the court-appointed U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California, allowing him to remain the region's top federal law enforcement official after his 120-day interim appointment expired and until a presidential nominee is confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Grant in August, and the district's judges recently voted to keep him on as the court-appointed U.S. attorney. Nunley administered the oath on Tuesday in Sacramento.

The court's embrace of Grant contrasts with the opposition faced by some of Bondi's other temporary appointments. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli in Los Angeles has been fighting to maintain control of the U.S. attorney's office for the Central District of California. Defendants in several cases have filed motions to dismiss indictments he brought on the grounds that they were invalid because his 120-day appointment as interim U.S. attorney ended in July.

The U.S. Justice Department has moved to dismiss those challenges. But in a reply motion filed Friday, Deputy Federal Public Defender James Anglin Flynn argued that even Essayli's role as an "inferior officer" requires Senate confirmation he has not received. USA v. Ramirez, 5:25-cr-00264-SSS (C.D. Cal., filed Aug. 13, 2025).

"The government cites no authority for the proposition that the executive itself, through agency regulation, can create an office and except it from the Appointments Clause without congressional approval. That is not the law," Flynn wrote.

Another high-profile acting U.S. attorney has received similar treatment in the District of New Jersey. Alina Habba resigned as the top federal prosecutor days after a three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled she was unlawfully appointed and disqualified her from supervising cases.

Habba spent several years representing President Donald Trump in a series of defamation cases against The New York Times and others. Before his election, she defended him in the civil fraud trial brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Grant is an uncontroversial appointee by comparison. A longtime Department of Justice veteran, he previously served in senior roles in the Office of Legal Counsel and the Environment and Natural Resources Division, where he oversaw more than 100 litigators handling nationwide environmental and natural resource cases.

He spent much of his private sector career working on energy and environmental litigation with Hicks Thomas LLP, a litigation firm with offices in Texas and Sacramento. A Modesto native, Grant has spent much of his career in Sacramento and raised his children in the area.

Grant clerked for Chief Justice Warren E. Burger and Justice Clarence Thomas during the U.S. Supreme Court's October 1994 term. He previously was a law clerk to Judge Edith H. Jones of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Houston.

"I have been honored to lead an excellent team of dedicated attorneys and other public servants in our shared mission to enhance public safety and the rule of law in the Eastern District of California. We have accomplished a great deal over the last several months, and our work continues," he said in a statement.

Grants' reappointment ensures continuity in one of the nation's busiest and most geographically expansive federal districts. The court has long been ranked as one of the most overburdened in the federal system. The district has nearly 8.5 million people, approximately the same as the entire Commonwealth of Virginia, but just six Article III judges, compared to 15 across Virginia's two districts.

Grant is the fourth person to lead the office this year. Phillip A. Talbert served four years under President Joe Biden but stepped down when Trump was sworn in. Talbert was followed by two acting U.S. attorneys, Michele Beckwith and Kimberly Sanchez.

California's other two district courts also chose to appoint their interim jobholders to serve until a permanent replacement is named. Craig H. Missakian was named interim U.S. attorney for the Northern District in May, and the court appointed him to keep the role in September.

Bondi appointed Adam Gordon in California's Southern District in April. That court's judges voted in July to keep him on, despite news reports that at least 10 career prosecutors had quit under his leadership, and the office was having trouble filling positions.