Trump administration seeks to keep Nevada US Attorney in place before court can act
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump's administration has extended Nevada's Interim U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah's term, aiming to prevent a federal court from rejecting her permanent appointment amid mounting opposition from critics including more than 100 retired federal and state judges, a Justice Department official said.
Chattah, an Israel-born former Republican National Committeewoman, has been serving in the interim role since April.
The 120-day deadline for her term is set to expire on Tuesday, which would open the door for the federal court in Nevada to appoint a U.S. Attorney since Trump has yet to nominate anyone for the role.
The department designated Chattah Acting U.S. Attorney for Nevada under the federal Vacancies Reform Act, the department official said.
Chattah announced her new role on X on Tuesday, adding "Rinse and repeat: The law is the ONLY thing that makes ALL people equal."
Federal courts have so far rejected two of Trump's other U.S. Attorney picks: John Sarcone in the Northern District of New York and Trump's former personal lawyer Alina Habba in New Jersey.
In both of those cases, the Justice Department used a variety of different legal maneuvers to keep them in place.
In Habba's case, Attorney General Pam Bondi thwarted the federal court by removing Desiree Grace, Habba's first assistant whom the courts had chosen to serve as the state's top federal prosecutor.
The maneuver in New Jersey has injected some uncertainty into federal criminal cases there, and defendants in at least one case have asked that their charges be dismissed based on an argument that Habba's appointment was unlawful.
More than 100 retired federal and state judges this week urged the federal court in Nevada not to permanently appoint Chattah, citing her history of racially charged comments and her "extreme partisan bias," according to a letter seen by Reuters.
"Chattah has frequently used violence-tinged language suggesting that her political opponent should be hanging from a crane, that protesters should be shot, and that people should 'buy ammo' in response to their grievances," wrote the 116 retired judges in a Monday letter to Andrew Gordon, the chief federal judge in Nevada.
The letter listed examples including Chattah referring to former Democratic U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowman as an "antisemitic ghetto rat" and calling Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis "so ghetto" and asking: "Why do we have lawyers like this who litigate in Ebonics?"
She also previously suggested that certain Democratic Jewish members of the U.S. Congress are equivalent to modern-day Nazi collaborators.
A Justice Department official did not have any immediate comment about the letter criticizing Chattah.
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Israel's Netanyahu to convene cabinet on Gaza war goals
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he would convene his security cabinet this week to discuss how to instruct the military to meet his war goals in Gaza. "We must continue to stand together and fight together to achieve all our war objectives: the defeat of the enemy, the release of our hostages, and the assurance that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel," Netanyahu said at the outset of a regular cabinet meeting. Israel's Channel 12 cited an official from his office as saying that Netanyahu was inclining towards expanding the offensive and seizing the entire Palestinian enclave. Israeli media reported that the cabinet would meet on Tuesday to make a decision on that. Netanyahu's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Gaza war began when Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel's offensive has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump set to announce replacement for Fed Gov Kugler this week. The Fed chair in waiting?
President Trump said he plans to name a replacement this week for Federal Reserve governor Adriana Kugler, whose unexpected resignation set for this Friday offers the president an opportunity to put in place a successor for Fed Chair Jerome Powell. 'I have a couple of people in mind,' President Trump told reporters Sunday night. 'I'll be announcing that probably over the next couple of days.' Kugler's term as a governor was set to expire on Jan. 31. She has served as a Fed governor since Sept. 13, 2023, and will return to Georgetown University as a professor this fall. Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor, and Kevin Hassett, the current chair of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, are thought to be at the top of the list for the next Fed chair and thus possible nominees to replace Kugler. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is leading the search for Powell's replacement and is also a potential contender, has already sketched out a scenario where the White House appoints someone to fill Kugler's seat who can then be in the running to succeed Powell next May. The White House also hopes that Powell decides to leave the Fed Board of Governors when his chairmanship is up, which would open up a second seat that Trump can fill. Powell has not yet said whether he intends to do that; his term as a Fed governor is not up until 2028. Read more: How much control does the president have over the Fed and interest rates? Warsh already has a lot of experience navigating the central bank. He served as Fed governor from 2006 until 2011 and became former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke's liaison to Wall Street during the chaos of the 2008 financial crisis. He is also a known figure to Trump, who interviewed him for the Fed chair post eight years ago before deciding on Powell. Trump appointed Powell to be Fed chair in 2018 at the direction of then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Former President Joe Biden reappointed Powell in 2022. Warsh has been critical of the Fed as of late. He has suggested that the Fed could look through increases in inflation from tariffs because it would be a one-time increase in prices. He's also argued that the costs involved in renovating the Fed's headquarters represent one of several examples of how the Fed "has lost its way" and that the American people "need a reformer to fix" the institution and rebuild its credibility. "Frankly, it's about breaking some heads," he said on Fox Business last month, calling for "regime change." Back in April, Warsh gave a speech in Washington, D.C., in which he said that the Fed's "current wounds are largely self-inflicted" and called for a "strategic reset" to ease a loss of credibility and damage to the Fed's standing. Hassett, meanwhile, already has a close relationship with Trump, given that he advises the president on economic policy and also served in the first Trump administration. Read more: How jobs, inflation, and the Fed are all related Earlier in the year, Hassett said he was more focused on the 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) than on any quick monetary policy changes at the Federal Reserve. While the Fed can influence short-term bond yields and long-term bond yields, longer-term bond yields are influenced by many factors outside the Fed, and it is the yield on the 10-year Treasury that influences mortgage rates. But lately, Hassett has been more blatant, saying there's no reason why the Fed shouldn't be cutting rates now, something the president has repeatedly hammered the central bank to do. The president will likely watch whoever he appoints to the open Fed governor position to see how they perform and whether they'd be a successor for Powell, whose term ends next May. Though Fed governors Chris Waller and Michelle Bowman are also jockeying for the position of Fed chair, in part by dissenting at last week's Fed policy meeting in favor of cutting rates by 25 basis points, rather than holding rates steady. The opportunity for the White House to fill Kugler's seat earlier than expected comes as Trump applies pressure on Powell and the Fed board to lower rates by as many as 3 percentage points. Whoever the president appoints, it is the Federal Open Market Committee, which is composed of 19 members, that makes the decision, not just the Fed chair, and the new chair will have to contend with the committee. Jennifer Schonberger is a veteran financial journalist covering markets, the economy, and investing. At Yahoo Finance she covers the Federal Reserve, Congress, the White House, the Treasury, the SEC, the economy, cryptocurrencies, and the intersection of Washington policy with finance. Follow her on X @Jenniferisms and on Instagram. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
USA Today
7 minutes ago
- USA Today
As Trump pushes tariffs, sons back firm aimed at 'revitalizing' US manufacturing
President Donald Trump's eldest sons are involved in a new business venture aimed partly at 'revitalizing American manufacturing' as their father pursues protectionist economic policies with the same goal. New America Acquisition I Corp, a blank-check firm backed by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., on Aug. 4 filed for an initial public offering of up to $300 million. The special purpose acquisition company, a vehicle previously used by the family to launch firearms retailers and media firms, aims to merge with businesses headquartered or primarily operating in the U.S., it said in a filing. The filing declares the firm is pursing mergers with one or more companies valued at $700 million or more "that play a meaningful role in revitalizing domestic manufacturing, expanding innovation ecosystems and strengthening critical supply chains.' 'Our objective is to target businesses that are not only well-positioned for long-term, sustainable growth, but also deeply aligned with the advancement of U.S. industrial capacity, technological leadership and innovation, and economic resilience," according to the filing. The Trump administration is pursuing an aggressive tariff program on goods coming into the United States, and there are levies on many manufactured products. Trump has encouraged companies to move their manufacturing to the United States. The new SPAC, incorporated in Florida, is the latest Trump family business in a sector the president is seeking to boost. The family is involved in crypto ventures, including a 60% stake in crypto platform World Liberty Financial, working to profit on crypto while the Trump administration pursues favorable policies for the industry. Eric and Trump Jr. will both serve on the advisory board for New America, receiving a combined 5 million shares in the company. Media veteran Kevin McGurn will lead the company. SPACs are shell companies that use their IPO proceeds to merge with a private company, thereby taking it public while avoiding the regulatory scrutiny of a traditional listing. New America said it would offer 30 million units in its IPO priced at $10 each, aiming to list on the New York Stock Exchange. Contributing: Reuters
