The U.S. Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee for the chief federal law enforcement officer in Kansas. Ryan Kriegshauser was appointed as the U.S. attorney for the District of Kansas following a 53-43 vote on a package of presidential nominations.
The senators representing Kansas — U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall voted in favor of confirming Kriegshauser.
“I am deeply honored with the special trust and confidence placed in me by the President of the United States, the United States Attorney General, and the judges in the District of Kansas,” Kriegshauser said in a statement. “Additionally, the support of Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall was pivotal in my selection and confirmation.
“I look forward to continuing my efforts to strengthen the relationship between the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Office and the Kansas justice system by extending more resources and support to our federal, state, and local partners. We want our partners to see us as accessible and approachable so that in working together, we can most effectively protect and serve our Kansas community,” the statement added.
He had been serving as the interim U.S. attorney since July 28; however, interim appointments by the attorney general are restricted to 120 days.
The district court may appoint a U.S. attorney until the vacancy is filled. The U.S. District Court of Kansas reappointed Kriegshauser effective November 25, pending Senate confirmation, as stated in a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Moran extended his congratulations to Kriegshauser on his confirmation.
“Throughout his career, Ryan has demonstrated a strong commitment to public service, the rule of law, and the pursuit of justice,” Moran said in a statement.
“He cares deeply about the safety and well-being of Kansans. As a former intern for me, I know him to be someone with the character and integrity needed to carry out the duties of this role. I look forward to working with him to support law enforcement and keep our communities safe,” Moran added.
Kriegshauser has been a notable attorney in conservative political circles in Kansas. He has prior experience in private practice, public service positions within state government agencies, and as a local prosecutor. He remains an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office employs attorneys and support personnel in Topeka, Wichita, and Kansas City, Kansas, operating within civil, criminal, and administrative divisions.
Senate Republicans confirmed nearly 100 of President Trump’s nominees, outpacing previous administrations and even his own first term, as they raced to wrap up the year.
Senators approved 97 of Trump’s picks, marking some of the final floor action in the Senate after a frenetic stretch driven by Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., once Republicans took control of the chamber in January.
Along the way, Republicans navigated internal divisions to pass the president’s signature “one big, beautiful bill” and reopened the government following the longest shutdown in U.S. history, Fox News reported.
Confirming Trump’s nominees, however, often proved nearly impossible under Senate rules, as Democrats imposed blanket objections to even the lowest-level positions across the government.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said Republicans began the year confirming Trump’s Cabinet at a breakneck pace, only to run headlong into what he described as “unprecedented obstruction from the Democratic minority.”
“We began the year by confirming President Trump’s Cabinet faster than any Senate in modern history,” Barrasso said per Fox. “And by week’s end, President Trump will have 417 nominees confirmed by the Senate this year. That’s far more than the 365 that Joe Biden had in his first year in office.”
In response, Republicans invoked the nuclear option in September, lowering the vote threshold for confirming sub-Cabinet nominees. Since then, the Senate has approved 417 of Trump’s picks.
Thune accused Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of engaging in “nothing more than petty politics” by blocking routine fast-track procedures — such as voice votes and unanimous consent — typically used to advance low-level presidential nominations, Fox added.
“Democrats cannot deal with the fact that the American people elected President Trump, and so they’ve engaged in this pointless political obstruction in revenge,” Thune said.
With the latest round of confirmations, Senate Republicans have nearly eliminated a nominations backlog that swelled to almost 150 pending picks over the summer.
Just 15 nominees now remain.
