WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) released the following statement after President Trump announced his nomination of Ryan Raybould to be U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas:

“Ryan served as my office’s Chief Counsel for multiple years, during which time I saw firsthand how intelligent, judicious, and well-versed in the law he truly is. This experience coupled with Ryan’s impressive work as a former federal prosecutor make him an excellent choice by President Trump to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Dallas,” said Sen. Cornyn. “I was proud to recommend Ryan for this position, and I look forward to seeing how he will continue serving Texans in this role once confirmed.”

If confirmed, Ryan Raybould of Texas will serve as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. Mr. Raybould is currently a litigation partner at Kirkland & Ellis in the Government, Regulatory, and Internal Investigations Practice Group. Before joining Kirkland & Ellis, Mr. Raybould served as Chief Counsel for Sen. Cornyn, where he helped draft and negotiate numerous pieces of legislation that became law on key issues such as national security, government accountability, and drug diversion control. Mr. Raybould also advised Sen. Cornyn’s work on the Judiciary Committee and the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. Prior to serving as Sen. Cornyn’s Chief Counsel, Mr. Raybould was a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice for almost seven years, including as Deputy Chief of the White Collar and Public Corruption Unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas. As a federal prosecutor, Mr. Raybould investigated and tried cases involving public corruption, tax fraud, securities fraud, cybercrime, national security, violent crime, money laundering, and other white-collar crimes. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School.

Sen. Cornyn and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) recommended Mr. Raybould to President Trump following an extensive review and interview process of the candidate pool by the bipartisan Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee (FJEC). Sen. Cornyn and Sen. Cruz established the FJEC, a bipartisan panel of leading attorneys in Texas, to help identify the most qualified candidates to fill judicial and U.S attorney vacancies. The panel reviewed applications, interviewed candidates, and made recommendations to the Senators, who interviewed individuals before making their recommendations to the President.