The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed Natalie Wight as Oregon’s next U.S. attorney, formally making her the top federal law enforcement official in the state.
Wight, a longtime federal prosecutor, has served as the court-appointed U.S. attorney since June, shortly after she was nominated by President Joe Biden.
Wight is from Oregon and graduated from Cleveland High School in Portland. She is the first Black person and the second Asian American person to serve as the district’s U.S. attorney.
The U.S. Senate confirmed Natalie Wight as the next U.S. Attorney for Oregon on September 8, 2022.
Oregon's U.S. Attorney's Office
Wight graduated from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 2003. She has spent her career working for the federal government, first as a lawyer for the Federal Bureau of Prisons before becoming a federal prosecutor in California.
In 2012, Wight became an assistant U.S. attorney in Oregon, where she’s worked on both civil and criminal prosecutions.
One of her highest-profile cases involved the 2019 prosecution of a Beaverton man convicted of ordering materials to make a bomb. That man later set off an explosive device after federal agents and members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force searched his home. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Wight was selected by the White House from three finalists.
“Natalie Wight has long been a community leader with an exemplary record of integrity and independence, and we’re gratified the entire Senate has confirmed her nomination to be U.S. Attorney for Oregon,” Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said in a written joint statement following her confirmation by the U.S. Senate. “We thank President Biden for nominating this very well-qualified Oregonian, and look forward to working with Ms. Wight in this vitally important post serving our state.”