Nevada Assembly Speaker under consideration to be next US attorney

Nevada Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson’s name will be submitted to President Joe Biden for nomination as the next U.S. attorney for Nevada, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed Thursday.

Frierson, a Democrat from Las Vegas, has served as speaker since the 2017 session. He earned his law degree at the William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV.

Reached by text Thursday evening, Frierson declined to comment on the potential nomination, saying only, “I’m focused on leading my caucus.”

Frierson will be called upon to preside over the Assembly during a special session of the Legislature, likely in November, to redraw political district lines using data collected in the 2020 census. Those district lines will govern elections in Nevada for the next decade.

The top federal prosecutor’s job in Nevada has been unfilled since former U.S. Attorney Nick Trutanich, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, left in February following Biden’s election in 2020. The 93 U.S. attorneys prosecute federal crimes in their respective districts and represent the United States in civil cases as well.

Currently, Christopher Chiou is serving as acting U.S. attorney for Nevada.

Frierson has been widely discussed as a potential candidate for the U.S. attorney’s job. He’s also been mentioned as a possible candidate for Clark County district attorney. Frierson has worked in the district attorney’s office, but now works as a Clark County assistant public defender. He’s also worked in the Nevada attorney general’s office.

Frierson was first elected to the Assembly in 2010 and served for two terms before being defeated for re-election in the “red tide” of 2014. He returned to representing his southwest Las Vegas district in 2016 and has served three additional terms.

Born in Los Angeles, Frierson attended the University of Nevada, Reno, where he played football while earning a bachelors degree in health sciences. In the 2021 session, he carried a bill to get rid of presidential caucuses in Nevada and hold a primary election every four years instead. He also carried the bill to make mail voting in Nevada permanent, along with other election reforms.

Contact Steve Sebelius at SSebelius@reviewjournal.com. Follow @SteveSebelius on Twitter.