WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Donald Trump has nominated longtime Republican Idaho state lawmaker and attorney Bart Davis to return to his role as U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Davis would be returning to a position he previously held, in the first Trump administration, as the top federal prosecuting attorney in Idaho.
“It’s an honor. It certainly is,” Davis told the Idaho Capital Sun in a phone interview Tuesday. “I really, really, really enjoyed my service as the U.S. Attorney. Idaho has a remarkable U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
New presidents often replace U.S. District attorneys upon changes in administration.
In February 2021, Davis resigned as U.S. Attorney for Idaho — a position he’d served in since 2017 — at the request of the Biden administration, the Post Register reported. Idaho’s most recent U.S. Attorney, Josh Hurwit, ended his service in February, the office announced. Hurwit was nominated by former U.S. President Joe Biden.
Davis’s re-appointment was first reported by the Idaho Statesman.
The current acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho is Justin D. Whatcott, a longtime Idaho prosecutor.
Before Davis became Idaho’s top federal prosecutor, he served for nearly two decades in the Idaho Senate — including over a decade as the Senate majority leader.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Davis’s term as U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho would be four years.
The White House announced Davis’s nomination on April 1. His nomination has been referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
In an interview, Davis praised the office’s staff as solid and “a pleasure to work with.” And he said the office’s relationships with federal law enforcement, and state and local partners, have helped make the office “very effective in the work that they do.”
“It’s going to be quite a privilege to go back and work with those people,” he added.
Davis is the fourth Idahoan nominated to positions in the Trump administration.
Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: info@idahocapitalsun.com.