Executive Order 13787: Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Justice
President: Donald J. Trump
Set a Justice Department acting Attorney General succession list after EO 13775; expressly revoked in 2025.
Status: Revoked — by EO 14136.
Is Executive Order 13787 still in effect? No. EO 14136 revoked it.
What does Executive Order 13787 do?
EO 13787 replaced EO 13775 with a fallback list of US Attorneys who could act as Attorney General if senior statutory successors were unavailable, subject to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. EO 14136 expressly revoked it in January 2025 and set a different list. EO 14148 then revoked EO 14136 on January 20, 2025, but did not expressly reinstate EO 13787. The 2017 list should therefore be treated as historical, while any current acting designation must be checked under current law and presidential action.
Before and after
Before the order
EO 13775 and statutory succession applied.
After the order
EO 13787 replaced that list until EO 14136 revoked it.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible US Attorneys | Serve in listed order if senior successors unavailable | Historical fallback |
| President | May designate another eligible acting official | Within law |
What happened next
EO 13787 revoked EO 13775 and set a new list.
EO 14136 revoked EO 13787.
EO 14148 revoked EO 14136 without expressly restoring EO 13787.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
Federal Vacancies Reform Act and 28 USC 508 eligibility conditions controlled acting service. Revoking the replacement did not itself say the 2017 list revived.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on September 23, 2026. How we research →