Oregon senators send White House three finalists for U.S. Attorney

Oregon’s two U.S. senators sent three possible nominees for the state’s next U.S. attorney to the White House on Wednesday.

All three finalists for the highest-ranking federal law enforcement official in the state either work or previously worked, for the U.S. Department of Justice and were selected by an interview panel that met with seven applicants earlier this month.

The finalists are:

• Craig Gabriel, an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Oregon, is currently chief of the office’s criminal division.
• Natalie Wight, an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Oregon, is currently deputy chief of the office’s organized and violent crime section.
• Vivek Kothari, who works at the private law firm Markowitz Herbold and previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

After the White House chooses its finalist, the nominee will appear before the U.S. Senate’s Judiciary Committee for a confirmation hearing. If approved, they’ll advance to a full vote by the U.S. Senate.

“We’re confident that Oregonians would be well-served by having any one of these three candidates as our state’s U.S. Attorney, and we stand ready to advance President Biden’s ultimate choice through the confirmation process,” Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both Democrats, said in a joint statement.

Billy Williams was Oregon’s last Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney. He resigned earlier this year, along with most other Trump appointees. Since Williams’ departure, Scott Asphaug has served as acting U.S. attorney for the District of Oregon.