California Republican Lawmaker Sworn In as US Attorney for Los Angeles

Bill Essayli, a two-term state lawmaker, was sworn in as top prosecutor of the Central District, which includes LA County.

California state Assemblyman Bill Essayli speaks on the Assembly floor in the state Capitol in Sacramento on Aug. 31, 2024. Travis Gillmore/The Epoch Times

LOS ANGELES—Former California Assemblyman Bill Essayli, a Republican, was sworn in Wednesday as the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California after being appointed by Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The district covers Los Angeles and surrounding counties and is the largest federal judicial district in the nation.

“It is the honor of a lifetime to lead the United States Attorney’s Office and serve the people of the district that I have called home for so many years,” Essayli said in a statement, “As our district’s chief federal prosecutor, I will work diligently and tirelessly with our federal and local law enforcement partners to implement the priorities of the president and the attorney general and to protect our communities from criminals.”

Essayli, 39, was sworn in as the interim U.S. attorney by Chief U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee in a private ceremony in Los Angeles, according to the Central District Office. The appointment must be confirmed by the Senate.

Essayli succeeds acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally, who filled the post when Martin Estrada resigned in January.

Until Tuesday, Essayli was a two-term Republican legislator representing the 63rd Assembly District since December 2022.  The Riverside County Republican had been pushing for conservative legislation in the Assembly, but with 60 Democrats out of 80 members, some of his bills did not go far.

One of his recent measures was AB 844, which would reverse a California law and prevent male athletes identifying as transgender from participating in girls’ and women’s sports. It failed in a legislative committee on April 1, the same day Essayli announced his new appointment.

He submitted his resignation letter to Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas after announcing his appointment. A special election will be held to fill his seat.

Essayli, the son of Lebanese immigrants, was a prosecutor before he became a lawmaker. He was an assistant U.S. attorney in the same Central District Office from 2014-2018. Before that, he served for two years as deputy district attorney for Riverside County.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office enforces the laws and defends the interests of the United States through three primary litigating divisions: criminal, national security, and civil. The Central District is the most populous of the 94 federal judicial districts in the country, serving the seven counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura, according to the office’s website.

The district office currently employs more than 250 lawyers, serves about 20 million residents, and is the largest U.S. Attorney’s Office outside Washington, D.C., according to the office.

Besides the Central District, California has the Northern, Eastern, and Southern districts. All four have been headed by acting U.S. attorneys since January or February of 2025, after previous chiefs either resigned or were fired by the new administration. As of April 2, interim U.S. attorneys of the other three offices have not been announced.

According to U.S. law, when there is a vacancy in a U.S. attorney’s position, the first assistant U.S. attorney becomes the acting U.S. attorney, and the U.S. attorney general can appoint an interim U.S. attorney before a presidential appointee is confirmed.