--- description: The number three official at the Justice Department is stepping down after less than a year on the job. title: A Major Justice Department Official Is Stepping Down Amid Tensions With Trump image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4ed939c14c6e80c3/698926fc0a4a2285bf9d1b71/rachel-brand.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [justice](/tag/justice/) ## justice Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Major Justice Department Official Is Stepping Down Amid Tensions With Trump  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 9, 2018 10:17 PM CUT  WASHINGTON, DC - During a confirmation hearing Rod Rosenstein nominated for Deputy Attorney General and Rachel Brand nominated for Associate Attorney General appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC Tuesday March 7, 2017. WASHINGTON, DC - During a confirmation hearing Rod Rosenstein nominated for Deputy Attorney General and Rachel Brand nominated for Associate Attorney General appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC Tuesday March 7, 2017.The Washington Post/Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 9, 2018 10:17 PM CUT The number three official at the Justice Department is stepping down after less than a year on the job, [the New York _Times_ reports.](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/us/politics/rachel-brand-justice-department.html?smid=tw-share "undefined") According to the _Times_‘ two anonymous sources, Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand is leaving to go back to the private sector. Brand’s position at the Justice Department is important because she’s next in line behind Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the special counsel’s Russia investigation. If Rosenstein were to step down or be fired, a move that President Trump has [refused to rule out](https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/02/politics/rod-rosenstein-donald-trump/index.html "undefined"), Brand would take over the top spot on the investigation. Brand’s reported resignation comes as Trump has ramped up his attacks on the Justice Department and accused top officials of political bias. Just as he refused to rule out firing Rosenstein, he also ordered special counsel Robert Mueller fired last year, [the New York _Times_ reported](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/25/us/politics/trump-mueller-special-counsel-russia.html "undefined"), but later relented. Brand’s departure may shake an already uneasy relationship between the White House and the Justice Department. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5142592/rachel-brand-leaving-justice-department/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5142592/rachel-brand-leaving-justice-department/"},"headline":"A Major Justice Department Official Is Stepping Down Amid Tensions With Trump","datePublished":"2018-02-09T22:17:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:13:40.351Z","description":"Rachel Brand would have taken over the Russia investigation if Rod Rosenstein was fired","url":"https://time.com/5142592/rachel-brand-leaving-justice-department/","keywords":["justice","Justice Department","DOj","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4ed939c14c6e80c3/698926fc0a4a2285bf9d1b71/rachel-brand.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4ed939c14c6e80c3/698926fc0a4a2285bf9d1b71/rachel-brand.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Nominees for Deputy Attorney General, Rod Rosenstein, and Rachel Brand nominated for Associate Attorney General","caption":"Nominees for Deputy Attorney General, Rod Rosenstein, and Rachel Brand nominated for Associate Attorney General","creditText":"The Washington Post/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/justice/","name":"justice"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5142592/rachel-brand-leaving-justice-department/","name":"A Major Justice Department Official Is Stepping Down Amid Tensions With Trump"}}]}] ```