Bill Essayli Leads LA Office as First Assistant US Attorney

Bilal A. “Bill” Essayli has been sworn in as the United States Attorney for the Central District of California. The appointment was made by Attorney General Pamela Bondi.

The swearing-in follows a period of legal contention regarding Essayli’s leadership of the office. Between April 2, 2025, and October 29, 2025, Essayli served in leadership capacities for the district, first as the interim United States Attorney from April 2 to July 29, 2025, and subsequently as the acting United States Attorney from July 30 to October 29, 2025.

Legal Challenges and the First Assistant Role

Essayli’s tenure as the acting United States Attorney was challenged in court. A federal judge ruled that he had illegally served in that capacity, determining that Essayli was disqualified from holding the position because he remained in the role beyond the initial interim period without receiving official congressional approval.

Following this judicial ruling, Essayli was immediately reassigned to the role of First Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California on October 29, 2025. The Los Angeles Times reported that this arrangement functioned as a loophole that allowed Essayli to continue serving as the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles despite the judge’s ruling.

In his capacity as First Assistant U.S. Attorney, Essayli led a team comprising 500 lawyers, special agents, and staff members. The office is responsible for enforcing federal criminal law and providing legal safeguards for approximately 20 million people within the Central District, which is the largest district in the United States.

Professional and Political Background

Before his appointment to the Justice Department, Essayli served as a member of the California State Assembly representing the 63rd district. He held this office from December 5, 2022, until April 1, 2025. A Republican, Essayli was the first Muslim elected to the California State Assembly. His district included the cities of Canyon Lake, Corona, Eastvale, Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Norco, Riverside, Temescal Valley, and Woodcrest.

Essayli’s legal career includes significant experience as a federal prosecutor. From October 2014 to February 2018, he worked in the Los Angeles and Riverside offices of the U.S. Attorney’s office. During this period, he focused on the prosecution of criminals charged with bank fraud, securities fraud, white-collar crimes, and organized and violent crime.

While serving as a federal prosecutor, Essayli was part of the team that responded to the terrorist attack at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino in December 2015. In August 2015, he obtained a conviction following a three-week trial of a doctor in Santa Barbara who was charged with unlawfully prescribing opiates, a case that involved the deaths of more than 12 patients.

Prior to his time as a federal prosecutor, Essayli spent two years as a deputy district attorney in the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office and spent several years working in private legal practice.

Education and Personal History

Born on November 24, 1985, in Corona, California, Essayli is the son of immigrants from Lebanon who moved to the United States to escape the Lebanese Civil War.

He is an alumnus of Centennial High School in Corona. He later earned a Bachelor of Arts from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and a Juris Doctor from Chapman University School of Law.