CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The U.S. Senate has confirmed two West Virginians as U.S. Attorneys for the state’s two judicial districts.
President Joe Biden in August nominated state Sen. William Ihlenfeld, D-Ohio, as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District and William Thompson for the state’s Southern District. The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the nominations last week, and the full Senate confirmed the nominees on Tuesday by voice vote.
Ihlenfeld previously served as U.S. Attorney from 2010 to 2016, and his legal experience also includes serving as a prosecutor in Brooke County and prosecuting domestic violence cases in Ohio County. Ihlenfeld was elected to the state Senate in 2018.
Thompson began serving as a judge on the state’s 25th Judicial Circuit in Boone and Lincoln counties in 2007. He resigned from the bench in August in the wake of his nomination.
The state Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission will be taking applications from candidates interested in the vacancy until Oct. 18.