united-states us-federal-government
What, if any, exemptions exist to 28 U.S. Code &#167; 516?
<p><a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/516" rel="nofollow noreferrer">28 U.S. Code § 516</a> states:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Except as otherwise authorized by law, the conduct of litigation in which the United States, an agency, or officer thereof is a party, or is interested, and securing evidence therefor, is reserved to officers of the Department of Justice, under the direction of the Attorney General.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This seems to imply some exemptions existed at the time it was written or may have been anticipated in the future. Do any such exceptions exist?</p>

<p>I don't know of any comprehensive list, but several exemptions do exist:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/12/5514" rel="nofollow noreferrer">12 U.S. Code § 5514</a> authorizes the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau to enforce consumer financial law.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/43" rel="nofollow noreferrer">15 U.S. Code § 43</a> authorizes the Federal Trade Commission to prosecute violations of the FTC Act.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/78d-5" rel="nofollow noreferrer">15 U.S. Code § 78d–5</a> authorizes the Securities and Exchange Commission to enforce securities laws.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/2000e-4#:%7E:text=42%20U.S.%20Code%20%C2%A7%202000e%E2%80%934%20%2D%20Equal%20Employment%20Opportunity%20Commission,-U.S.%20Code&amp;text=There%20is%20hereby%20created%20a,of%20the%20same%20political%20party." rel="nofollow noreferrer">42 U.S. Code § 2000e–4</a> authorizes the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to litigate equal-employment violations.</li>
</ul>
<p>As far as I know, non-DOJ litigators are limited to independent agencies that aren't headed by a Cabinet-level officer. I assume the idea is that because these agencies are meant to be independent, they need to be able to decide which cases to pursue without DOJ interference.</p>
