Bilal Ali "Bill" Essayli (born November 24, 1985) is an American lawyer and politician who is currently serving as the interim

United States attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the

Central District of California The United States District Court for the Central District of California (in case citations, C.D. Cal.; commonly referred to as the CDCA or CACD) is a federal trial court that serves over 19 million people in Southern and Central California, m ...

, having been appointed to the position in April 2025. Following his appointment, a coalition of critics launched a campaign known as ''Stop Essayli'', urging California’s U.S. senators to block his confirmation and raising concerns about his prosecutorial record. He previously served as a member of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

from 2022–2025 until his appointment as interim U.S. attorney. A Republican, he was the first

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

elected to the California State Assembly, where he represented the 63rd district, which includes Canyon Lake,

Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus or disease responsible for the COVID-19 ...

, Eastvale,

Lake Elsinore Lake Elsinore is a natural freshwater lake in Riverside County, California, United States, located east of the Santa Ana Mountains and fed by the San Jacinto River. Originally named ''Laguna Grande'' by Spanish explorers, it was renamed for t ...

, Menifee, Norco, Riverside, Temescal Valley, and Woodcrest.

Early life and education

Essayli's parents are immigrants from

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

who fled to the country to escape its

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. He is a first-generation college graduate, earning his undergraduate degree from the Kellogg Honors College of

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona California State Polytechnic University Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) is a Public university, public Institute of Technology (United States)#Polytechnic universities, polytechnic research university in Pomona, California, United States. It is the l ...

and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Chapman University School of Law The Chapman University School of Law (officially the Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law) is a private, non-profit law school located in Orange, California. The school offers the Juris Doctor degree (JD) and combined degree programs ...

Early career

Essayli served as an

intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...

in the

White House Counsel The White House Counsel is a senior staff appointee of the president of the United States whose role is to advise the president on all legal issues concerning the president and their administration. The White House counsel also oversees the Off ...

's Office in 2008. He then worked in private practice, where he focused on

employment law Labour laws (also spelled as labor laws), labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship be ...

. Then he joined the

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

's office as a prosecutor. He then became an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gov ...

for the

. Among the cases he worked on was the 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino.

California State Assembly

In 2018, Essayli ran for the

against incumbent Democrat

Sabrina Cervantes Sabrina Cervantes (born October 24, 1987) is an American politician who has served in the California State Senate since 2024, representing the 31st district. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as a member of the California State Ass ...

. He lost the election, but made a strong showing, which raised his local profile. In 2022, Essayli ran for the state Assembly in the newly created 63rd Assembly District. He defeated Eastvale Mayor Clint Lorimore in the primary and businesswoman Fauzia Rizvi in the general election.

U.S. Attorney

In April 2025,

U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government. The attorney general acts as the principal legal advisor to the president of the ...

Pam Bondi Pamela Jo Bondi ( ; born November 17, 1965) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who has served as the 87th United States attorney general since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the 37th attorney general of Fl ...

appointed Essayli as interim U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. The appointment was made under federal law allowing the Attorney General to fill vacancies without Senate confirmation for up to 120 days. The district, headquartered in Los Angeles, encompasses seven counties and nearly 20 million residents, making it the largest federal judicial district outside of Washington, D.C. His appointment prompted pushback from Democratic officials and progressive organizations, culminating in the launch of ''Stop Essayli'', a grassroots effort opposing his confirmation on grounds of alleged political retaliation and civil rights concerns.

Personal life

Essayli is the first

in history to be elected to the California State Assembly.

Electoral history

2018

2022

2024

References

External links

Bill Essayli
on

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Essayli, Bill 1985 births Living people 21st-century members of the California State Legislature 21st-century Muslims American politicians of Lebanese descent Assistant United States attorneys California State Polytechnic University, Pomona alumni Chapman University alumni Muslims from California Politicians from Corona, California Republican Party members of the California State Assembly United States attorneys for the Central District of California