ABSTRACT
The individual who heads the Office of the Attorney General (AG) is the chief lawyer and law enforcement officer of the United States. The AG runs the largest legal office in the world in the service of a single client, the US government. The AG's office and those who occupy it exist in an awkward place, with overlap into the executive, legislative, and judicial departments of government. The first attorney general of the United States was Edmund Randolph of Virginia. When he assumed the position in 1789, the office was lacking in prestige, power, and budget. The original simple office with a broad mandate has grown to more than thirty divisions, bureaus, and offices. The AG oversees some of the most recognizable and important components of the US legal bureaucracy. The Drug Enforcement Administration was added to the Department of Justice in 1973 to enforce narcotics and controlled-substances law.
