A federal appeals court on Monday affirmed a ruling that disqualified Sigal Chattah, a Trump administration appointee, from serving as the top federal prosecutor in Nevada. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Justice Department unlawfully bypassed Senate confirmation procedures in its efforts to keep Chattah in the role.
The three-judge panel upheld a district court's decision that Chattah was not validly leading the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada, a ruling that impacts her supervision of at least three criminal cases.
Chattah, who previously served as the Republican National Committee member for Nevada, was initially appointed as interim U.S. attorney for a 120-day period beginning April 1, 2025. As this interim term neared its expiration in late July of the same year, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi designated Chattah as first assistant U.S. attorney after she resigned from the interim position. The Justice Department argued that this move, along with her appointment as a special attorney, allowed her to continue acting as U.S. attorney under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act while a permanent nominee awaited Senate confirmation.
However, federal public defenders in Nevada challenged Chattah's authority, contending that her appointment was unlawful and seeking the dismissal of cases she oversaw. U.S. District Judge David Campbell sided with the public defenders in September, leading to the Trump administration's appeal.
The Ninth Circuit panel rejected the Justice Department's arguments. Writing for the unanimous panel, U.S. Circuit Judge Eric Miller, an appointee of President Donald Trump, stated that the Federal Vacancies Reform Act did not permit a first assistant to automatically assume the acting U.S. attorney role unless they held that position when the vacancy initially occurred. The court also ruled that the Attorney General could not circumvent the law by delegating all U.S. attorney functions to another individual.
This decision represents the latest legal setback for the administration's strategy of installing temporary appointees in key federal prosecutor positions without undergoing the standard Senate confirmation process. The dispute also arises amid ongoing discussions surrounding the Senate Judiciary Committee's "blue slip" tradition, which allows home-state senators to significantly influence the nomination of U.S. attorneys.
Notably, Trump did not nominate Chattah for the permanent Nevada U.S. attorney post. Instead, George Kelesis was nominated in February 2026.
This ruling follows a similar decision in December by the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which found that Alina Habba, a former personal lawyer for Trump, was not lawfully serving as acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey and disqualified her from overseeing cases there.