U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has added more than 300 prosecutors to fight crimes including drug distribution and use related to the opioid crisis. Sessions announced a renewed commitment to fighting crime in a release on Monday.
“Under President Trump’s strong leadership, the Department of Justice is going on offense against violent crime, illegal immigration, and the opioid crisis—and today we are sending in reinforcements,” Sessions said.
The Attorney General announced that he is appointing a total of 311 new Assistant U.S. Attorneys nationwide. Of those, 86 will be civil enforcement prosecutors, many with the Prescription Interdiction and Litigation Task Force. That new enforcement team is combatting the opioid crisis by targeting every level of the distribution system.
Another 190 of the new attorneys will prosecute violent crimes. The Department of Justice will use the remaining 35 appointees for the prosecution of immigration violations.
Sessions said that he has taken cost-saving measures and consequently enabled the DOJ to reallocate their limited resources. He also noted that his experience with the justice department has led him to be a demanding Attorney General.
“We have a saying in my office that a new federal prosecutor is the coin of the realm,” Sessions said. “When we can eliminate wasteful spending, one of my first questions to my staff is if we can deploy more prosecutors to where they are needed. I have personally worked to re-purpose existing funds to support this critical mission, and as a former federal prosecutor myself, my expectations could not be higher.”
Sessions also noted that the new appointees are the biggest addition of prosecutors to the Department of justice in years.
“These exceptional and talented prosecutors are key leaders in our crime-fighting partnership,” he said. “This addition of new Assistant U.S.