[chaosagent]

So when Roberts said this in that opinion,

The President may override that default rule by directing either a person serving in a different PAS office or a senior employee within the relevant agency to become the acting officer instead,” Roberts said,

he was wrong, or what? Isn’t this exactly what was done.

[Alberta's Child]

Roberts' opinion in that case was predicated on the underlying premise that the Vacancies Act was an acceptable way to fill posts that could otherwise remain vacant indefinitely if the President and Senate could not agree on a replacement.

That was never going to be the case with Sessions' departure, since the DOJ already has a Deputy AG (Rosenstein) who was qualified to fill that role and met the requirements of the Appointments Clause because he had been confirmed to his Deputy AG post by the U.S. Senate.