Laxalt chief of staff nominated to be Nevada U.S. Attorney

The chief of staff for the Nevada attorney general’s office has been tabbed to become the state’s next top federal prosecutor, according to U.S. Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada.

Nicholas Trutanich, chief of staff to Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, was nominated by President Donald Trump to become the U.S. attorney for Nevada, according to a news release from the office of Heller, who recommended the nomination.

“I was proud to recommend him to the President, and I am confident that he will serve the state of Nevada well as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada,” Heller said in the news release.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto also praised Trutanich, calling him a “well-qualified” nominee.

“I worked with Nicholas Trutanich during my time as Nevada’s attorney general. While we don’t share the same political views, he is a dedicated public servant who has served our state honorably,” Cortez Masto said in a statement. “I believe he is well-qualified to serve as the next U.S. Attorney for Nevada and I support his nomination.”

When reached by phone July 13, Trutanich referred questions to the White House and to the U.S. Department of Justice.

If approved by the U.S. Senate, Trutanich would replace interim U.S. Attorney for Nevada Dayle Elieson, a former Texas prosecutor who was appointed in January by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to serve until a permanent replacement is confirmed.

Trutanich served as an assistant U.S. attorney in California from 2008 to 2014. There he supervised the violent and organized crime section and was gang coordinator for the federal office in Los Angeles. He has worked in the Nevada attorney general’s office since 2014.

Trutanich’s bio on the attorney general website says he worked in commercial law before becoming a federal prosecutor and graduated from Georgetown University Law Center. He, his wife, Katherine, and their three sons live in Reno.