Biden taps Jesse Laslovich for Montana U.S. Attorney

The White House on Wednesday announced President Joe Biden will nominate former Democratic state lawmaker Jesse Laslovich to be U.S. Attorney for the state of Montana.

Laslovich, born in Anaconda, first went to the Legislature in 2001, and served in both chambers until 2010, when he went to work as chief legal council for Montana Auditor Monica Lindeen. In 2011, he began working as a special assistant U.S. Attorney, helping prosecute a wire fraud case. He mounted an unsuccessful bid for Montana Attorney General in 2012, and then ran for state auditor in 2016, eventually losing to now-Congressman Matt Rosendale, a Republican.

Laslovich’s was one of a small handful of names forwarded to the White House by the office of Democrat Montana Senator Jon Tester. He now works as regional vice president for SCL Health Montana-Wyoming.

“I’m honored and humbled by the nomination,” Laslovich told the Daily Montanan. “I’m really looking forward to the confirmation process, and the only other thing I would say is something like this doesn’t just happen because of me, it’s because people believed in me more than I believe in myself.”

If confirmed by the Senate, Laslovich will replace U.S. Attorney Leif Johnson, who’s been serving in an interim role. The last U.S. Attorney for Montana to be confirmed was Kurt Alme, who served from 2017 to 2020, when he resigned to lead the budget office of Gov. Greg Gianforte. Alme stepped down from the governor’s office in October.

Tester said in a statement that Laslovich, a former state legislative colleague, is “a fair and experienced attorney with an accomplished prosecution record defending Montana families.

“We have a number of major law enforcement issues to address in our state, including human and drug trafficking, which is why I look forward to working closely with my Senate colleagues to get Jesse confirmed and on the job as quickly as possible.”

Laslovich was one of six nominees to U.S. Attorney posts around the country announced Wednesday.

“These individuals were 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,” a statement from the White House said.