President Trump has nominated local lawyer and former federal prosecutor Peter Strasser as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, the White House announced Wednesday. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Strasser would fill the New Orleans-based post that has been vacant since March 2017.
Strasser was one of four U.S. Attorneys across the country nominated Wednesday. His nomination will need to be confirmed by the Senate Judiciary Committee and the full Senate.
Strasser is currently a partner at the New Orleans office of Chaffe McCall, LLP. Previously, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, where he was the head of the organized crime and the economic crime sections. He was one of the prosecutors involved in the case against Edwin Edwards, which sent the former governor to federal prison in 2002.
Strasser’s nomination is supported by Louisiana’s two U.S. Senators, Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy, who, following practice, took the lead on putting his name forward as a candidate for the post.
“Mr. Strasser is a sound choice for U.S. attorney of the Eastern District,” said Sen. Kennedy in a news release. “He has a wealth of legal experience and can smoothly transition into the job. I look forward to hearing Mr. Strasser’s testimony during the nominations hearing at the Senate Judiciary Committee.”
"Strasser is an excellent pick for this position and he will serve Louisiana and our country well,” said Sen. Cassidy in a statement. “His extensive experience, including years spent as an assistant U.S. attorney in New Orleans, should ensure a smooth transition and I look forward to voting for his confirmation.”
Strasser also served for over eleven years at U.S. Embassies in Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa as a Resident Legal Advisor with the Department of Justice’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training. He earned his B.A., with distinction, from the University of Virginia and his J.D. from Washington and Lee Law School. He is a retired Navy Reserve Captain, JAGC and served as a military judge.
Strasser would replace Kenneth Polite, who stepped down in March 2017, hours before the U.S. Department of Justice asked all remaining Obama-era U.S. attorneys to resign, to be replaced by appointees by the Trump administration.
Duane Evans has been serving as interim U.S. Attorney since then.