California Assemblymember Bill Essayli tapped as top federal prosecutor for LA

LOS ANGELES (CN) — Former California Assemblymember Bill Essayli was often a thorn in the Democratic supermajority’s side.

Essayli’s actions got him removed from committees and the Corona Republican frequently bumped heads with his chamber’s speaker pro tempore. He stormed from the Assembly floor last year while claiming Democrats acted dictatorially.

Now, the 39-year-old lawyer is the new United States attorney for the Central District of California, after he was appointed by Attorney General Pamela Bondi.

“As our district’s chief federal prosecutor, I will work diligently and tirelessly with our federal and local law enforcement partners to implement the priorities of the president and the attorney general and to protect our communities from criminals,” Essayli said in a Wednesday statement. “Our citizens deserve no less.”

Essayli resigned his Assembly seat Tuesday and took his new oath of office Wednesday. He’s now the head of the biggest United State’s Attorney’s Office outside the nation’s capital. With over 250 attorneys, the office has jurisdiction in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

Formerly a deputy district attorney and assistant U.S. attorney, Essayli was first elected to the Assembly in November 2022 and reelected last November. He’s the son of Lebanese immigrants and the first Muslim elected to the Assembly.

“In just over two years, we have achieved major victories to restore common sense in Sacramento,” Essayli posted to X, formerly Twitter. “When I joined the Assembly, parental rights, illegal immigration, and voter ID were peripheral issues; we’ve made them centerpieces of our party. This past election we added true fighters and I am confident they will continue the important work needed in the Legislature to make Republicans start winning in California.”

Republicans in November gained two Assembly seats and one state Senate seat.

Assemblymember and Minority Leader James Gallagher, a Yuba City Republican, in a statement called Essayli an advocate for common sense and public safety.

“I can’t think of a better person to serve as one of California’s top law enforcement officials,” Gallagher said. “Through his time in the Assembly, Bill’s principled leadership and legal expertise have made him a great asset to his constituents and the Republican caucus.”

Essayli’s actions earned him few friends on the other side of the aisle.

While presenting a bill on the last night of the session in 2023, Essayli received pushback from Assemblymember Alex Lee, a San Jose Democrat. Lee asked fellow Democrats to either oppose the bill or “lay off,” meaning to not vote. Essayli’s bill, at the final vote needed before proceeding to the governor, failed.

A resolution by Essayli that would have prohibited Assembly members from using a pool vehicle if charged or convicted of DUI never reached a committee. In a 2023 statement he lambasted a Democratic candidate for the Assembly who’d recently been arrested for DUI.

Last year, Essayli often clashed with Assemblymember Jim Wood, a Healdsburg Democrat, who served as speaker pro tempore.

Verbally sparring with Wood over a forced-outing bill last year, Essayli remarked that he “was not prepared to address the Chinese Communist Party today.” Wood ruled him out of order, leading Essayli to shout after his microphone was cut off. The scene cooled after a 30-minute recess and Essayli finished his comments.

On the final night of the session last year, Assembly Democrats began moving at breakneck speed to beat the midnight deadline. Some Republicans, including Essayli, balked at what they saw as debate cut short. Essayli was cut off from speaking after being accused of delaying tactics, and he left the floor while calling it “a dictatorship.”

Essayli took controversy head on up to his final day as a lawmaker.

On Tuesday — hours before he resigned his seat — Essayli sat next to right-wing media personality Matt Walsh as he presented Assembly Bill 844. It would have required that participating in sex-segregated school activities, including athletics, at elementary through postsecondary institutions, be determined by a student’s anatomy and genetics at birth.

“They deserve the right to be champions,” Essayli said of girl athletes. “This isn’t a hypothetical. You’re taking rights away from women.”

The bill failed to make it out of its first committee.