LOS ANGELES — Bill Essayli, a conservative former state Assembly member from Riverside County, recently marked his first full year leading the federal prosecutor's office in Los Angeles. Essayli has held the title of first assistant U.S. attorney rather than U.S. attorney because he lacks Senate confirmation.

Essayli was sworn in as interim U.S. attorney in Los Angeles last April. After he reached the 120-day limit for interim U.S. attorneys, Attorney General Pam Bondi designated him as a special attorney and as first assistant. A federal judge subsequently disqualified Essayli as acting U.S. attorney on the grounds that he was not lawfully serving in the top role but said he had no authority to undo the first assistant designation. Because no one else held the office above him, that designation left Essayli as the de facto U.S. attorney.

During his tenure, the 40-year-old prosecutor pursued criminal charges against protesters, activists and immigrants, dropped cases involving administration allies, and supported lawsuits over transgender and environmental policies in California. Los Angeles federal prosecutors were recently in two separate trials involving a charge of assault on a federal officer tied to immigration protests. The office has not won an assault case at trial so far. Authorities in Los Angeles have also filed more charges for sharing a federal employee's protected information online than any other jurisdiction in the country under the Trump administration.

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, said, "This is very troubling because it circumvents the constitutional procedure of having the president nominate and the Senate confirm. That's crucial to checks and balances. This allows the president to appoint whoever he wants."

A Justice Department spokesperson said, "It is a disservice to our prosecutors and the American people when judges prevent the President and the Attorney General from installing qualified and capable prosecutors who will aggressively enforce our laws and make America safe again." In other jurisdictions, federal judges have exercised their authority to appoint interim U.S. attorneys.

Senator Adam Schiff is preparing legislation to challenge President Trump's installation of unconfirmed appointees as top federal prosecutors. Under Senate tradition, individual senators can block a U.S. attorney nominee in their home state by withholding a blue slip, which clears a nominee's path to a confirmation hearing.

In Virginia, Trump replaced U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert, a nominee under Senate consideration who had refused to prosecute some of the president's political enemies, with former personal attorney Lindsey Halligan. Siebert resigned. In her first criminal case, Halligan moved to indict former FBI Director James B. Comey, but the prosecution was later thrown out, and Halligan's appointment was deemed illegal. In New Jersey, another of the president's personal lawyers was named U.S. attorney. In New York's Northern District, judges moved to oust Trump's former campaign attorney, who had received the first assistant designation, and Justice Department officials subsequently fired that attorney's replacement.

Chambers for Chief U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee did not respond to a request for comment about why no similar action has been taken in Los Angeles. A court spokesman also declined to comment. Essayli did not respond to a request for comment, and the White House referred questions to the Justice Department.