Federal judge signals Bill Essayli is likely to be disqualified as head of the LA U.S. attorney's office

Judge J. Michael Seabright said at a Tuesday, Oct. 13 hearing that the Justice Department's case for keeping Essayli was underwhelming, Bloomberg Law reports. Seabright, a Hawaii judge, hears the case because the Central District of California's own judges recused. The question is a time limit: federal law lets the attorney general install an interim U.S. attorney for 120 days without Senate confirmation. Seabright ruled in October 2025 that Essayli had served unlawfully past that limit but let him stay on as "first assistant." On Aug. 17, 2026 the Ninth Circuit held that the attorney general cannot use that title to extend Nevada's Sigal Chattah the same way. A ruling is due within weeks, and DOJ says it would appeal.

The hearing:

• Essayli was appointed to run the LA office in April 2025.
• A joint filing on a temporary stay of any disqualification order is due Oct. 19.
• Seabright on Attorney General Todd Blanche's Sept. 23 order trimming Essayli's powers: 'This is saying that you can do everything but what you can't legally do.'