[Tax-chick]

Who has the power to assign an “acting Attorney General,” if not the President?

[Alberta's Child]

The President DOES have the power to assign an acting AG. He just can't assign someone who hasn't been confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

That's why the DOJ has an official list of posts for succession within the agency. As of now, it is as follows:

1. Attorney General
2. Deputy Attorney General
3. Associate Attorney General
4. United States Attorney for the District of Columbia
5. United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois
6.United States Attorney for the Central District of California

This is by regulation, not statute -- but it is set up so that the AG will always be succeeded by someone who has been subject to Senate confirmation.

Something big is clearly going on here, because the appointment of Whitaker in an "acting" role circumvents this internal succession process and is clearly aimed at keeping Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein out of the AG post.