A federal appeals court panel on Monday upheld a ruling disqualifying Sigal Chattah from her position as the top federal prosecutor in Nevada. The court determined that the Justice Department’s appointment and delegation methods could not extend her authority past her interim term.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel confirmed a judge’s decision that Chattah was not validly leading the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada. Consequently, she is barred from overseeing prosecutions in three criminal cases.

Before joining the U.S. Justice Department, Chattah served as Nevada’s Republican National Committee representative. She was appointed interim U.S. attorney starting April 1, 2025, for a term of up to 120 days.

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As the end of her term approached in July, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi named Chattah as the first assistant U.S. attorney. Chattah resigned from her interim role before the term expired, and the Justice Department contended she could continue as acting U.S. attorney under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act due to Bondi’s designation.

Bondi additionally appointed Chattah as a special attorney, while the DOJ insisted her role as first assistant justified her acting position.

Federal public defenders in Nevada contested Chattah’s authority in unrelated criminal cases, arguing her appointment was unlawful and seeking case dismissals. U.S. District Judge David Campbell agreed with the public defenders’ stance in September, leading to the Trump administration’s appeal.

The appeals court ruled that under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, an automatic transition to acting U.S. attorney is only viable if the first assistant was already in place when the vacancy arose. Judge Eric Miller, appointed by President Trump, stated the Attorney General cannot delegate all U.S. attorney functions to another individual.

Joining Miller were U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr., also a Trump appointee, and U.S. Circuit Judge Sidney Thomas. The panel dismissed the Justice Department’s arguments related to the automatic designation and delegation of duties.

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This decision marks another setback for the Trump administration’s attempts to bypass traditional Senate procedures for top federal prosecutorial roles. The controversy is part of broader debates over the Senate Judiciary Committee’s “blue slip” practice, allowing senators to object to U.S. attorney nominees.

Though Trump did not nominate Chattah for a permanent role, he nominated George Kelesis for the Nevada U.S. attorney position in February 2026.

In related incidents, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disqualified Alina Habba, a former Trump personal lawyer, from serving as acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey last December.

Reuters contributed to this report.