click to enlarge President Joe Biden has selected a longtime federal prosecutor to head the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Vermont.
Nikolas Kerest, who has worked in the office since 2010, is the nominee,
the White House announced Tuesday. The post is subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
Kerest would replace Christina Nolan, a president Donald Trump appointee,
who resigned in February as part of the presidential transition. Jonathan Ophardt has been serving as acting U.S. Attorney.
Kerest is currently an assistant attorney in the office's criminal division. Prior to that, he worked as an assistant attorney in the civil division from 2010 to 2014, and as the civil division chief from 2014 to 2019. Kerest was also the office's
civil rights coordinator for several years.
“I’m honored to be nominated and look forward to the confirmation process and getting to work,” he said in a statement.
Kerest was one of nine new nominees announced Tuesday. The slate was chosen for their "devotion to enforcing the law, their professionalism, their experience and credentials in this field, their dedication to pursuing equal justice for all, and their commitment to the independence of the Department of Justice," the White House said.
In a press release, the White House plugged an initiative to crack down on gun crime by "putting more cops on the beat, supporting community prevention programs, and cracking down on illegal gun trafficking.
"Confirming U.S. Attorneys as the chief federal law enforcement officers in their district is important for these efforts," the release stated.
Kerest previously worked in private practice at Pierce Atwood LLP in Portland, Maine, from 2004 to 2010 and Ropes & Gray LLP in Boston, Mass., from 2001 to 2004. He received his law degree from Cornell Law School in 2000.