Aaron Reitz, a former top deputy to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, has been appointed the next US attorney for the Southern District of Texas. Reitz, a Marine Corps veteran, previously worked in the Trump Justice Department before running for attorney general earlier this year.
Background and Responsibilities
Reitz finished fourth in a crowded and expensive primary, despite Paxton’s endorsement, running on a platform of combating violent crime, illegal immigration, and drug and human trafficking. As US attorney, Reitz will be responsible for federal prosecutions and civil litigation involving the federal government in a vast region that includes Houston and large swaths of the US-Mexico border.
Reitz has stated that he wants to see 20 million people deported and 50 million visa renewals denied from Third Worlders. He is replacing acting US Attorney John Marck, who was recently confirmed as a judge in the Southern District.
The Department of Justice has been using procedural machinations to appoint many of its federal prosecutors without Senate scrutiny, after Democrats stymied some of the Trump administration’s more controversial picks.
Original reporting: Texas Tribune (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
