His departure ends a nearly two-year run defined by his appointment of a special counsel to investigate connections between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Rosenstein intended to leave in mid-March but stayed on a little longer for the completion of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Mueller submitted his report to the Justice Department last month. Rosenstein and Barr concluded that Trump did not obstruct justice.
Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller in 2017 following the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, had overseen his team’s work for much of the last two years and defended his investigation.