The first attorney general, Edmund Randolph, was President George Washington’s confidant and close political ally. Between then and now, presidents have, from time to time, appointed friends and supporters to be attorneys general. They even chose campaign managers or their party’s national chairperson to be attorney general of the United States.

New Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered a review of the federal prosecution of Donald Trump as she unveiled a series of directives designed to overhaul a Justice Department the president has claimed is biased against conservatives.