Minnesota's acting U.S. attorney is tapped for interim role as state awaits Trump nominee

With no nomination yet from President Donald Trump, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday appointed Minnesota's acting U.S. attorney to continue in the role on an interim basis.

Gregory Brooker, a former first assistant under Andrew Luger, has led the Minneapolis office since Luger was among the 46 holdovers from the Obama administration who were ordered to resign in March 2017.

"The work of the office will continue unabated by the career professionals, who will keep prosecuting and litigating on behalf of the United States," Brooker said in a statement. "We will be ready to welcome a new presidentially appointed United States Attorney whenever that occurs."

Brooker is one of just seven interim U.S. attorneys selected to stay on after spending most of the past year as acting U.S. attorney. This is a signal that the administration is not yet close to nominating a candidate for Minnesota's position.

As of Thursday, Brooker would have served 300 days, the maximum allowed under the federal Vacancies Reform Act and would have required Sessions' appointment to continue leading the U.S. attorney's office in Minnesota. Sessions formally appointed 16 other officials to lead districts that also do not yet have presidentially appointed U.S. attorneys in place.

"As a former U.S. attorney myself, I have seen firsthand the impact that these prosecutors have, and it is critical to have U.S. attorneys in place," Sessions said in a statement announcing the appointments.

The interim appointments span 120 days. Beyond that point, if there is still no presidentially appointed U.S. attorney in place, the district's federal judges must approve an extension of the interim roles.

John Marti, a Minneapolis attorney and former federal prosecutor who once also led the district's office on an acting basis, has advanced through multiple interviews with senior officials from the White House and Justice Department for the job.

Brooker, a Minnesota native, received his law degree in 1985 from the University of Minnesota Law School. He joined the U.S. attorney's office in 1999, and served as chief of the civil division from 2007 to 2014. He was appointed first assistant U.S. attorney in 2014. Before becoming a federal prosecutor, he spent five years with Minneapolis law firm Popham, Haik, Schnobrich, Kaufman and Doty.

Stephen Montemayor • 612-673-1755 Twitter: @smontemayor