With a Democratic president assuming office, several attorneys are applying to the Barack Obama Transition Team for U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
Chattanooga attorney Lee Davis and attorney Bill Killian, who practices in Chattanooga and South Pittsburg, are among those who have applied.
Russ Dedrick now holds the post, but he was appointed under the Republican Bush administration.
It is expected that he would be replaced by an attorney with Democratic ties.
Mr. Davis, a former prosecutor in the Hamilton County District Attorney's office, has been active in several Democratic campaigns. He now practices with the firm of Davis and Hoss.
Attorney Killian is also an active Democrat who often handles criminal cases in Federal Court.
When Bill Clinton became President, he fired all 93 U.S. attorneys.
The National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys, representing 5,300 federal prosecutors around the country, has written a letter to Barack Obama urging him not to follow suit, according to The National Law Journal.
The group asked him to rule on a case-by-case basis and to retain some U.S. attorneys based on their records and credentials rather than their political affiliation.
The letter urges the new President to "consider the reappointment of such incumbent United States attorneys who have provided exceptional service during their tenure."
The group also asked that the Obama team not fire U.S. attorneys until replacements are made so there will be "an orderly transition".