McLain Joseph "Mac" Schneider (born March 27, 1979) is an American attorney and politician who served as the

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 District of North Dakota from December 2022 to January 2025. He previously represented the 42nd district in the

North Dakota Senate The North Dakota State Senate is the upper house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, smaller than the North Dakota House of Representatives. Per the state constitution, North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative distri ...

from 2009 until his reelection defeat in 2016. A member of the

North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

, he served as the Senate Minority Leader from 2013 until the end of his Senate tenure. He was the Democratic-NPL endorsed candidate for the

2018 United States House of Representatives election in North Dakota The 2018 United States House of Representatives election in North Dakota was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the U.S. representative for North Dakota's at-large congressional district. The election coincided with the U.S. Senate election, as ...

Early life and education

Schneider was born and raised in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...

. Schneider comes from a

political family A political family (also referred to as political dynasty) is a family in which multiple members are involved in politics — particularly Election, electoral politics. Members may be related by consanguinity, blood or marriage; often several gene ...

. His father, Mark, was the Democratic-NPL Party chairman in 2009; his mother,

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

, serves as a North Dakota State Representative from the 21st district; his uncle, John Schneider, is a former North Dakota state representative; and he campaigned for other Democratic state senators as a child. Schneider graduated from

Fargo South High School Fargo South High School, commonly known as Fargo South, South High, and South, is a public high school in Fargo, North Dakota. It serves about 1,000 students in grades 9-12. The school is a part of the Fargo Public Schools system. The school col ...

in 1997. In 2002, he received a degree in history from the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

. Schneider was a starting center on UND's 2001 national championship football team and served as team captain his senior season. He graduated from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

with his

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 ...

in 2008.

North Dakota Senate

In 2008, Schneider was first elected to the

from the 42nd district, which includes parts of northern

Grand Forks Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in the state, after Fargo and Bismarck. Grand For ...

and the

campus. He was reelected in 2012, and ran again in 2016, but lost to Republican Curt Kreun. In the 2011 legislative session, he was elected to serve as Assistant Minority Leader of the North Dakota Senate, before serving as Minority Leader in the 2013 and 2015 legislative sessions. Schneider's committee assignments during his tenure included the Standing Judiciary, Natural Resources, and Industry, Business, and Labor committees. He also served on the Interim Judiciary Committee, Budget Section Committee, Economic Impact Committee, Legislative Management Committee, and the Legislative Procedure and Arrangements Committee.

2018 congressional election

On March 6, 2018, Schneider announced his candidacy for that year's U.S. House of Representatives election for

North Dakota's at-large congressional district North Dakota's at-large congressional district is the sole congressional district for the state of North Dakota. Based on size, it is the eighth largest congressional district in the nation. The district was represented by Kelly Armstrong who se ...

. Schneider won the endorsement of the

at their 2018 state convention on March 17, 2018, defeating former state representative Ben W. Hanson and State Senator

John Grabinger John Grabinger is an American politician who served as a member of the North Dakota Senate from 2013 to 2020. Early life Grabinger was born and raised in Jamestown, North Dakota, where he earned his diploma at Jamestown High School. Caree ...

. Schneider was defeated in the general election by Republican

Kelly Armstrong Kelly Michael Armstrong (born October 8, 1976) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 34th governor of North Dakota since 2024. A member of the Republican Party, he served from 2019 to 2024 as the U.S. representative for North Da ...

, who won 60% of the vote to Schneider's 36%.

U.S. attorney

On September 15, 2022, President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

announced his intent to nominate Schneider to be the

for the District of North Dakota. The same day, his nomination was sent to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. On November 17, 2022, Schneider's nomination was reported of committee by a

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "by live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by respondin ...

, with Senators

Mike Lee Michael Shumway Lee (born June 4, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Utah, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Lee became Utah's senior senator in 2019, whe ...

Josh Hawley Joshua David Hawley (born December 31, 1979) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Missouri, a seat he has held since 2019. A member ...

, and

Marsha Blackburn Mary Marsha Blackburn (née Wedgeworth; born June 6, 1952) is an American politician and businesswoman serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Tennessee. Blackburn was first ...

voting "no" on record. On December 6, 2022, his nomination was confirmed in the Senate by

. He was sworn in on December 12, 2022. On February 16, 2025, Schneider resigned from his office and his First Assistant Jennifer Puhl replaced him as acting secretary.

Electoral history

References

External links

Biography at U.S. Department of Justice

Biography
at the North Dakota Legislature * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schneider, Mac 1979 births Living people American football offensive linemen Candidates in the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections Georgetown University Law Center alumni North Dakota lawyers Democratic Party North Dakota state senators North Dakota Fighting Hawks football players Players of American football from Fargo, North Dakota Politicians from Fargo, North Dakota United States attorneys for the District of North Dakota Fargo South High School alumni American athlete-politicians 21st-century members of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly