diff --git a/common/ruletypes.h b/common/ruletypes.h
index f70cd1d98..00264e545 100644
--- a/common/ruletypes.h
+++ b/common/ruletypes.h
@@ -787,7 +787,6 @@ RULE_CATEGORY_END()
 
 RULE_CATEGORY(Expedition)
 RULE_INT(Expedition, MinStatusToBypassPlayerCountRequirements, 80, "Minimum GM status to bypass minimum player requirements for Expedition creation")
-RULE_BOOL(Expedition, UseDatabaseToVerifyLeaderCommands, false, "Use database instead of zone cache to verify Expedition leader for commands")
 RULE_BOOL(Expedition, EmptyDzShutdownEnabled, true, "Enable early instance shutdown after last member of expedition removed")
 RULE_INT(Expedition, EmptyDzShutdownDelaySeconds, 1500, "Seconds to set dynamic zone instance expiration if early shutdown enabled")
 RULE_INT(Expedition, RequestExpiredLockoutLeewaySeconds, 60, "Seconds remaining on lockout to count as expired for creation requests (client hides timers under 60s remaining)")
diff --git a/zone/expedition.cpp b/zone/expedition.cpp
index 96b5784ff..2eafa1dbe 100644
--- a/zone/expedition.cpp
+++ b/zone/expedition.cpp
@@ -908,25 +908,15 @@ bool Expedition::ConfirmLeaderCommand(Client* requester)
 		return false;
 	}
 
-	ExpeditionMember leader;
-	if (RuleB(Expedition, UseDatabaseToVerifyLeaderCommands))
-	{
-		leader = ExpeditionDatabase::GetExpeditionLeader(m_id);
-	}
-	else
-	{
-		leader = m_leader;
-	}
-
-	if (leader.char_id == 0)
+	if (m_leader.char_id == 0)
 	{
 		requester->MessageString(Chat::Red, UNABLE_RETRIEVE_LEADER); // unconfirmed message
 		return false;
 	}
 
-	if (leader.char_id != requester->CharacterID())
+	if (m_leader.char_id != requester->CharacterID())
 	{
-		requester->MessageString(Chat::System, EXPEDITION_NOT_LEADER, leader.name.c_str());
+		requester->MessageString(Chat::System, EXPEDITION_NOT_LEADER, m_leader.name.c_str());
 		return false;
 	}
 
diff --git a/zone/expedition_database.cpp b/zone/expedition_database.cpp
index 1f7bbdeb7..001f46730 100644
--- a/zone/expedition_database.cpp
+++ b/zone/expedition_database.cpp
@@ -430,28 +430,6 @@ uint32_t ExpeditionDatabase::GetExpeditionIDFromCharacterID(uint32_t character_i
 	return expedition_id;
 }
 
-ExpeditionMember ExpeditionDatabase::GetExpeditionLeader(uint32_t expedition_id)
-{
-	LogExpeditionsDetail("Getting expedition leader for expedition [{}]", expedition_id);
-
-	auto query = fmt::format(SQL(
-		SELECT expedition_details.leader_id, character_data.name
-		FROM expedition_details
-			INNER JOIN character_data ON expedition_details.leader_id = character_data.id
-		WHERE expedition_id = {}
-	), expedition_id);
-
-	ExpeditionMember leader;
-	auto results = database.QueryDatabase(query);
-	if (results.Success() && results.RowCount() > 0)
-	{
-		auto row = results.begin();
-		leader.char_id = strtoul(row[0], nullptr, 10);
-		leader.name    = row[1];
-	}
-	return leader;
-}
-
 void ExpeditionDatabase::InsertCharacterLockouts(
 	uint32_t character_id, const std::vector<ExpeditionLockoutTimer>& lockouts,
 	bool replace_timer, bool is_pending)
diff --git a/zone/expedition_database.h b/zone/expedition_database.h
index 9002dc600..07c395267 100644
--- a/zone/expedition_database.h
+++ b/zone/expedition_database.h
@@ -60,7 +60,6 @@ namespace ExpeditionDatabase
 	void DeletePendingLockouts(uint32_t character_id);
 	void DeleteAllMembersPendingLockouts(const std::vector<ExpeditionMember>& members);
 	uint32_t GetExpeditionIDFromCharacterID(uint32_t character_id);
-	ExpeditionMember GetExpeditionLeader(uint32_t expedition_id);
 	std::pair<std::vector<ExpeditionLockoutTimer>, std::vector<uint32_t>> GetMembersLockout(
 		const std::vector<ExpeditionMember>& members, const std::string& expedition_name,
 		const std::string& event_name);