A federal judge has ruled that Bill Essayli, the acting US Attorney for the Central District of California, is serving in his role unlawfully. However, Essayli has stated the decision does not immediately impact his ability to oversee federal prosecutions.
"Just so there’s no confusion, today’s order is stayed and has no immediate effect," Essayli posted on social media. "I remain First Assistant U.S. Attorney and continue running the office. The Supreme Court will ultimately decide this matter."
US District Judge J. Michael Seabright declared on Tuesday that Essayli "is unlawfully serving as a ‘defacto’ United States Attorney." While the ruling could affect Essayli's capacity to oversee cases, Seabright denied motions to dismiss two cases initiated while Essayli was in charge of the office under the disputed title.
Essayli was appointed by the Trump administration to serve as Acting US Attorney for the Central District of California, which encompasses Los Angeles. He was later appointed First Assistant US Attorney by then-US Attorney General Pam Bondi before his 120-day limit in the acting role expired. In October 2025, Judge Seabright disqualified Essayli from overseeing several criminal cases, asserting that he had exceeded the allowed tenure for the position. The Trump administration did not appoint a successor, and Essayli continued to serve as First Assistant US Attorney.
This ruling comes as Essayli is involved in a separate legal challenge concerning California's mail-in ballots. A federal judge is expected to rule on the Trump administration's request to set aside thousands of ballots from voters suspected of not being US citizens. The Department of Justice is seeking to have California election officials set aside approximately 20,000 ballots from individuals federal prosecutors believe were improperly registered, and to verify their citizenship before counting them.
Essayli and Attorney General Todd Blanche are leading the Justice Department's effort in this matter. "Every minute that goes by, American citizen votes are being diluted in the state of California," Essayli stated last week. "It’s an emergency, and we expect the courts to treat it as such."
Federal law prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections. The government alleges that some individuals have already faced criminal charges for alleged illegal registration and voting. Essayli expressed concerns that noncitizens might be casting ballots as polling places opened across Los Angeles County, noting that over 300,000 ballots had already been processed in LA County alone. The Department of Justice initiated legal action against the state after California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan reportedly did not review the names of suspected noncitizen voters within the government's requested timeframe. The government argues that once ballots are separated from their envelopes, identifying individual voters becomes impossible, making it crucial to segregate potentially ineligible ballots before they are counted.