STATE

KU’s Stephen McAllister confirmed by Senate to serve as U.S. attorney for Kansas

Tim Carpenter

Stephen McAllister, who serves as the state’s solicitor general and was dean of KU’s law school from 2000 to 2005, has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the top federal prosecutor in Kansas. (July 2017 file photo/The Associated Press)

The U.S. Senate voted unanimously to confirm Wednesday a law professor at the University of Kansas to be the top federal prosecutor in Kansas.

Stephen McAllister, who serves as the state’s solicitor general and was dean of KU’s law school from 2000 to 2005, was nominated in September by President Donald Trump. The KU law graduate also clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Bryon White and Clarence Thomas.

The nomination was endorsed by U.S. Sens. Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran, both Kansas Republicans.

“He has extensive legal experience in state and federal courts including arguing nine cases before the Supreme Court of the United States,” Roberts said. “I’m pleased the Senate has confirmed yet another important judicial position.”

Moran praised McAllister’s “bright legal mind” and his “distinguished career in federal litigation.”

McAllister will succeed acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall, appointed in 2016, as the top federal law enforcement official in the state. There are more than 90 U.S. attorney offices in the United States.