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DOJ-009 — Senior Department of Justice Professional Qualification and Good Standing Act

A BILL

To amend title 28, United States Code, to establish professional-qualification, good-standing, disciplinary-disclosure, continuing-notification, and temporary-delegation requirements for senior Department of Justice legal offices; to clarify the relationship between those requirements and existing attorney-ethics rules for Government attorneys; and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Senior Department of Justice Professional Qualification and Good Standing Act.”

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

The purposes of this Act are to—

  1. preserve the professional legitimacy of the Department of Justice;
  2. ensure that senior Department legal officers possess baseline professional qualifications to supervise the legal work of the United States;
  3. recognize that attorney licensure and bar membership provide external professional-conduct checks administered by courts, bar authorities, disciplinary bodies, and licensing authorities;
  4. require admission to practice law and good standing for covered senior Department legal offices;
  5. require disclosure of bar memberships, final professional discipline, and pending formal disciplinary charges;
  6. require continuing notice of final professional discipline while serving;
  7. establish temporary delegation and restoration procedures where a covered officer loses professional good standing or receives final discipline materially inconsistent with senior Department legal service;
  8. preserve presidential nomination authority and Senate advice-and-consent authority subject to statutory qualifications for offices Congress creates; and
  9. prevent pending, unadjudicated, frivolous, or politically motivated complaints from becoming automatic disqualification tools.

Chapter 31 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 506 the following:

“(a) Definitions.

“In this section:

“(1) Covered office. The term ‘covered office’ means—

“(A) Attorney General;

“(B) Deputy Attorney General;

“(C) Associate Attorney General;

“(D) Solicitor General;

“(E) Assistant Attorney General; and

“(F) any other Department of Justice office designated by the Attorney General by regulation as a senior legal-supervisory office for purposes of this section.

“(2) Covered officer. The term ‘covered officer’ means any person nominated, appointed, designated, or serving in a covered office.

“(3) United States jurisdiction. The term ‘United States jurisdiction’ means any State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, any federally recognized tribal court jurisdiction that licenses attorneys, or any federal court that admits attorneys to practice.

“(4) Good standing. The term ‘good standing’ means that the covered officer is currently admitted to practice law in at least one United States jurisdiction and is not suspended, disbarred, resigned in lieu of discipline, administratively ineligible for disciplinary reasons, or otherwise finally determined by a licensing authority to be ineligible to practice law in that jurisdiction.

“(5) Final professional discipline. The term ‘final professional discipline’ means a final, non-interlocutory order, judgment, decision, or disposition by a court, bar authority, disciplinary authority, or licensing authority imposing disbarment, suspension, public censure, public reprimand, resignation in lieu of discipline, reciprocal discipline, or comparable public professional discipline.

“(6) Pending formal disciplinary charge. The term ‘pending formal disciplinary charge’ means a formally filed public disciplinary complaint, charge, petition, or equivalent adjudicatory proceeding initiated by a court, bar authority, disciplinary authority, or licensing authority after preliminary screening or investigation.

“(7) Materially inconsistent discipline. The term ‘materially inconsistent discipline’ means final professional discipline that, considering the nature of the covered office, materially bears on the covered officer's ability to exercise legal supervision, prosecutorial judgment, candor to tribunals, professional independence, fiduciary duties, confidentiality obligations, or ethical duties owed to the United States.

“(b) Professional qualification requirement.

“(1) Requirement. A person may not be appointed, designated, or continue serving in a covered office unless the person is admitted to practice law and in good standing in at least one United States jurisdiction.

“(2) Acting service. Paragraph (1) applies to any person designated to perform the functions and duties of a covered office in an acting capacity under section 508 of this title, the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, section 3345 et seq. of title 5, or any other statute authorizing acting service in a covered office.

“(3) No effect on non-legal offices. This section does not impose a bar-admission requirement on Department of Justice offices that are not covered offices.

“(c) Pre-nomination, appointment, and designation disclosure.

“(1) Disclosure required. Before appointment, Senate confirmation, or acting designation to a covered office, the covered officer shall provide to the President, the Department of Justice Designated Agency Ethics Official, and, for Senate-confirmed offices, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate—

“(A) all current and former bar memberships;

“(B) all jurisdictions in which the officer is currently admitted to practice law;

“(C) current good-standing status in each jurisdiction where admitted;

“(D) all final professional discipline;

“(E) any resignation in lieu of discipline;

“(F) any reciprocal discipline;

“(G) any pending formal disciplinary charge;

“(H) any administrative ineligibility based on professional-discipline reasons; and

“(I) any material limitation on the officer's eligibility to practice law.

“(2) Certification. The covered officer shall certify under penalty of perjury that the disclosure is true, complete, and correct to the best of the officer's knowledge after reasonable inquiry.

“(3) Supplementation. The covered officer shall supplement the disclosure promptly if information materially changes before appointment, confirmation, or designation.

“(d) Continuing duty to notify.

“(1) Notice required. A covered officer serving in a covered office shall notify the President, the Deputy Attorney General or next highest non-conflicted Department official, the Inspector General of the Department of Justice, the Office of Professional Responsibility, the Designated Agency Ethics Official, the Office of Government Ethics, and, for Senate-confirmed offices, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, not later than 7 days after—

“(A) loss of good standing in any jurisdiction;

“(B) imposition of final professional discipline;

“(C) resignation in lieu of discipline;

“(D) initiation of a pending formal disciplinary charge;

“(E) reciprocal discipline;

“(F) suspension, disbarment, or administrative ineligibility for disciplinary reasons; or

“(G) any material limitation on eligibility to practice law.

“(2) Contents. The notice shall identify the jurisdiction, disciplinary body, nature of the action, effective date, current procedural posture, and any limitation on the covered officer's ability to practice law.

“(3) Public reporting. For Senate-confirmed covered offices, the Department shall publish a public notice of final professional discipline, suspension, disbarment, resignation in lieu of discipline, or loss of all good-standing status, except that information may be redacted to protect privacy, national security, law-enforcement sensitivity, or legally protected information.

“(e) Effect of pending complaints and pending formal charges.

“(1) No automatic disqualification. A pending complaint, grievance, allegation, request for investigation, media allegation, congressional complaint, political complaint, or pending formal disciplinary charge shall not automatically disqualify a person from nomination, appointment, designation, or service in a covered office.

“(2) Disclosure and evaluation. A pending formal disciplinary charge shall be disclosed and may be considered by the President, the Senate, the Department of Justice, the Office of Government Ethics, and appropriate ethics officials in evaluating professional fitness, conflicts, or temporary recusal needs.

“(3) Protection against weaponization. No legal consequence under this section may be based solely on a complaint or allegation that has not resulted in a pending formal disciplinary charge or final professional discipline.

“(f) Disqualification from covered duties and temporary delegation upon loss of good standing or final discipline.

“(1) Duty disqualification and automatic temporary delegation. If a covered officer loses good standing in all United States jurisdictions in which the officer is admitted, is suspended or disbarred in all such jurisdictions, resigns in lieu of discipline, or receives final professional discipline materially inconsistent with service in the covered office, the covered officer is disqualified from exercising the legal-supervisory duties of that office, and those duties shall temporarily devolve to the next eligible officer authorized by law.

“(2) Scope. Temporary delegation under this subsection applies to legal-supervisory duties, litigation authority, prosecutorial supervision, professional-responsibility supervision, approval of legal positions, and other duties materially requiring professional legal judgment.

“(3) Succession and vacancies laws preserved. Nothing in this subsection authorizes service by a person otherwise ineligible under section 508 of this title, the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, section 3345 et seq. of title 5, or any other applicable succession or vacancies statute.

“(4) Presidential and Senate authority preserved. Nothing in this subsection prevents the President from nominating, appointing, or designating an eligible replacement, or prevents the Senate from confirming an eligible nominee.

“(5) No automatic removal. This subsection disqualifies a covered officer from exercising covered legal-supervisory duties and provides for temporary devolution of those duties. It does not by itself remove a covered officer from office, except as otherwise provided by law.

“(6) Restoration. A covered officer whose duties are temporarily delegated may resume those duties only after regaining good standing in at least one United States jurisdiction and after the Designated Agency Ethics Official, in consultation with the Office of Professional Responsibility and the Office of Government Ethics, determines that no unresolved final professional discipline remains materially inconsistent with service.

“(7) Written determination. Any restoration determination shall be transmitted to the President, the Inspector General of the Department of Justice, the Office of Professional Responsibility, the Office of Government Ethics, and, for Senate-confirmed offices, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.

“(g) Material-inconsistency review.

“(1) Review required. If a covered officer receives final professional discipline other than disbarment, suspension, or resignation in lieu of discipline, the Designated Agency Ethics Official, in consultation with the Office of Professional Responsibility and the Office of Government Ethics, shall determine whether the discipline is materially inconsistent with service in the covered office.

“(2) Factors. The determination shall consider—

“(A) the nature and seriousness of the misconduct;

“(B) whether the misconduct involved dishonesty, fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, obstruction, abuse of legal process, misuse of client information, breach of fiduciary duty, or lack of candor to a tribunal;

“(C) whether the misconduct relates to public office, government service, prosecutorial judgment, law-enforcement authority, professional supervision, or litigation conduct;

“(D) whether the misconduct resulted in action by an external bar authority, court, licensing authority, or disciplinary body charged with regulating professional conduct;

“(E) whether the discipline is final;

“(F) whether the officer remains in good standing in at least one United States jurisdiction;

“(G) whether temporary recusal, screening, or delegation can adequately protect the Department's interests; and

“(H) the public interest in the Department's integrity and professional independence.

“(3) Written determination. The determination shall be written and transmitted to the President, the Inspector General of the Department of Justice, the Office of Professional Responsibility, the Office of Government Ethics, and, for Senate-confirmed offices, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.

“(h) Recusal, screening, and limited delegation.

“If final professional discipline or a pending formal disciplinary charge presents a specific conflict, appearance concern, or professional-responsibility issue short of automatic temporary delegation, the covered officer shall consult with the Designated Agency Ethics Official and Office of Professional Responsibility regarding recusal, screening, limited delegation, or other protective measures.

“(i) Office of Professional Responsibility and Inspector General review.

“(1) OPR review. The Office of Professional Responsibility shall review any final professional discipline, loss of good standing, or pending formal disciplinary charge involving a covered officer where the matter may affect the officer's legal-supervisory duties.

“(2) Inspector General review. The Inspector General of the Department of Justice may review Department compliance with this section, including disclosure, notification, delegation, and restoration procedures.

“(3) Reports. The Inspector General may report findings and recommendations to the Attorney General, the President, Congress, or the public, consistent with law and appropriate protections for confidential or protected information.

“(j) Regulations.

“(1) In general. Not later than 180 days after enactment, the Attorney General shall promulgate regulations implementing this section, including procedures for disclosure, verification of good standing, notice, temporary delegation, restoration, recusal, screening, and material-inconsistency review.

“(2) Conflict rule. If the Attorney General is unavailable, conflicted, ineligible, or subject to review under this section, the Deputy Attorney General or next eligible non-conflicted covered officer shall promulgate the regulations.

“(k) Rules of construction.

“Nothing in this section shall be construed to—

“(1) require disqualification based solely on a pending complaint, grievance, allegation, request for investigation, media allegation, congressional complaint, political complaint, or pending formal disciplinary charge;

“(2) limit the President's nomination authority except by establishing statutory qualifications for offices created by law;

“(3) limit the Senate's advice-and-consent authority;

“(4) create a private right of action;

“(5) authorize collateral attack on otherwise valid Department actions solely because of a covered officer's later-discovered disclosure violation, unless otherwise provided by law;

“(6) limit any stricter ethics, recusal, disciplinary, or professional-responsibility requirement otherwise applicable to a covered officer;

“(7) alter the authority of any State, court, bar authority, disciplinary authority, or licensing authority to regulate the professional conduct of attorneys; or

“(8) prevent Congress from requesting or considering information about pending complaints, professional fitness, or disciplinary matters during confirmation or oversight.”.

SEC. 4. ATTORNEY GENERAL SUCCESSION CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

Section 508 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(d) Professional qualification for acting service.

“A person may not perform the functions and duties of the Attorney General under this section unless the person is eligible to serve under section 506A. If the next officer in the order of succession is ineligible under section 506A, the functions and duties of the Attorney General shall devolve to the next eligible officer authorized by law.”.

SEC. 5. ATTORNEY ETHICS CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

Section 530B of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

“Nothing in this section limits the professional-qualification, disclosure, notification, delegation, or review requirements under section 506A. Compliance with this section, including any applicable State laws and rules and local Federal court rules governing attorneys, may be considered in any material-inconsistency review under section 506A.”.

SEC. 6. COMPENSATION-LIMITATION CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

Section 530C(c) of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

“Paragraph (1) shall not be construed to limit, displace, or satisfy section 506A. A covered officer under section 506A who is compensated for service materially requiring professional legal judgment must satisfy both paragraph (1) and section 506A.”.

SEC. 7. CLERICAL AMENDMENT.

The table of sections for chapter 31 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 506 the following:

“506A. Professional qualifications and good standing for senior Department legal offices.”.

SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION.

(a) Effective date.

This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 90 days after enactment.

(b) Initial disclosure by serving covered officers.

A covered officer serving on the effective date shall submit the disclosure required under section 506A(c) of title 28, United States Code, as added by this Act, not later than 30 days after the effective date.

(c) No automatic effect from pending complaints.

Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall be construed to impose automatic disqualification, temporary delegation, or removal from duty based solely on a pending complaint, grievance, allegation, request for investigation, media allegation, congressional complaint, political complaint, or pending formal disciplinary charge.

SEC. 9. SEVERABILITY.

If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by this Act, or the application of such provision or amendment to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of this Act, the amendments made by this Act, and the application of such provision or amendment to any other person or circumstance shall not be affected.

Budgetary Impact Statement

Administrative workload is possible; no new appropriation is specified.

Note: Preliminary ARRP assessment only; not a CBO, OMB, agency, or legislative-counsel score.

Drafting Notes

  • This draft has been converted from a freestanding bill into an existing-law amendment package following DOJ-009's internal review of publication blockers.
  • The proposed new section 506A placement is provisional. Legislative counsel should verify whether the better codification location is after 28 U.S.C. § 506, elsewhere in chapter 31, or in another title 28 location.
  • The draft uses 28 U.S.C. § 508 to connect the good-standing rule to Attorney General succession and acting service.
  • The draft uses 28 U.S.C. § 530B to connect the proposal to the existing federal rule that Government attorneys are subject to State laws and rules and local Federal court rules governing attorneys.
  • The draft uses 28 U.S.C. § 530C(c)(1) as an existing compensation-related attorney-licensure analogue and clarifies that the existing compensation limitation does not replace the broader good-standing and disclosure rule.
  • The internal project review examined the Federal Vacancies Reform Act cross-reference as a functional analogue for duty devolution and no-force-or-effect consequences, but legislative counsel should still verify exact interaction with acting-service eligibility, statutory succession, and any nonratification rule before external circulation.
  • The internal project review examined 28 C.F.R. part 77 and confirms that existing DOJ professional-conduct regulations are an implementation foundation, not a substitute for this draft: part 77 covers senior DOJ legal officers as attorneys for the Government, but its definition of state and local federal-court rules governing attorneys expressly excludes rules requiring licensure or membership in a particular state bar.
  • The internal project review added professional-responsibility analogues from ABA Model Rules 5.1, 5.5, 8.3, and 3.8. Those sources support the professional-supervision, good-standing, fitness, and prosecutor-responsibility premises, but they are not enacted federal eligibility rules.
  • The internal project review also reviewed Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, Inc. and Trump v. Slaughter as current Appointments Clause and removal-power caution sources. The duty-devolution structure should remain framed as a neutral statutory eligibility and duty-performance rule, not as automatic removal, congressional control, or an external veto over presidential supervision.
  • The draft deliberately distinguishes pending complaints and pending formal charges from final professional discipline.
  • Pending complaints are not automatic disqualifiers.
  • Pending formal disciplinary charges trigger disclosure and may support ethics review, recusal, screening, or Senate evaluation, but not automatic disqualification.
  • Duty disqualification and automatic temporary delegation are reserved for loss of good standing in all admitted jurisdictions, suspension or disbarment in all such jurisdictions, resignation in lieu of discipline, or final professional discipline materially inconsistent with senior DOJ legal service.
  • The draft uses duty devolution rather than automatic removal from office because a follow-up internal review identified the Federal Vacancies Reform Act's function-and-duty model as a closer analogue than automatic removal of a Senate-confirmed executive officer.
  • Appointments Clause, nomination-authority, removal-power, FVRA, 28 U.S.C. § 508, and professional-responsibility review by qualified public-law counsel, legislative counsel, or a professional-responsibility expert remains necessary before treating this draft as publication-ready.

Source Notes

  • 28 U.S.C. chapter 31 contains the baseline statutory provisions for the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, Associate Attorney General, Solicitor General, Assistant Attorneys General, Attorney General succession, Attorney General functions, litigation authority, and attorney ethical standards for the Government.
  • 28 U.S.C. § 508 governs Attorney General succession and is the most direct title 28 hook for acting service by Department officers.
  • 28 U.S.C. § 530B already subjects Department attorneys to State laws and rules and local Federal court rules governing attorneys.
  • 28 U.S.C. § 530C(c)(1) limits payment of compensation for services by an individual employed as an attorney unless the individual is licensed and authorized to practice in a State, territory, or the District of Columbia.
  • 28 C.F.R. part 77 implements 28 U.S.C. § 530B and defines attorneys for the Government to include senior DOJ legal officers, but it also excludes state-bar licensure or membership requirements from the professional-conduct rules phrase, supporting the need for a separate statutory good-standing rule if Congress wants one.
  • 5 U.S.C. § 3348 supplies an analogue for treating protected functions as vacant and unauthorized actions as ineffective when acting service is not authorized.
  • 5 U.S.C. §§ 3345-3349d should be reviewed for interaction with any acting-service provision.
  • ABA Model Rules 5.1, 5.5, 8.3, and 3.8 are professional-responsibility analogues for supervisory responsibility, unauthorized-practice and good-standing concepts, misconduct reporting tied to honesty or fitness, and prosecutor-specific obligations.
  • Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, Inc. and Trump v. Slaughter should be treated as current constitutional caution sources before publication because the draft touches principal officers, acting officers, supervision, and duty consequences inside the executive branch.
  • DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility and DOJ Inspector General authorities should be reviewed for implementation fit before publication.
  • Constitution Annotated materials on the Appointments Clause and restrictions on Congress's appointment-related authority should be reviewed before publication because the draft regulates qualifications, disclosure, and duty consequences for presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed legal offices.