SEATTLE (AP) - Seattle U.S. Attorney Brian Moran, the top federal prosecutor for western Washington, has announced his last day in office will be Feb. 28.
President Joe Biden has asked U.S. attorneys appointed by former President Donald Trump to step down. Moran, who previously served as one of the top officials in the state Attorney General’s Office, will return to private practice.
In a statement Tuesday, Moran thanked Democratic U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell for supporting his nomination. Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo Martinez in Seattle thanked Moran for continuing the district’s tradition of having “professional, non-partisan prosecutors as our U.S. attorneys.”
“It has been my experience as U.S. Attorney that, regardless of how and from where we approached it, local, state, and federal officials in the Western District of Washington have and will continue to find common ground on public safety and advancing the cause of justice,” Moran said.
Moran became U.S. attorney two years ago, leading the office through a difficult period that included the longest government shutdown in U.S. history and the pandemic. He said he focused on combatting gun violence and the proliferation of fentanyl and other opioids. He also tried to work with the district’s tribes to improve community safety on reservations, and he encouraged the prosecution of hate crimes and neo-Nazi conspirators.
Murray and Cantwell have recommended that Biden nominate Nick Brown, Gov. Jay Inslee’s former general counsel, to replace Moran.
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