Sen. Murray says move to keep Serrano as top federal prosecutor ‘sets a dangerous precedent’

Former Pasco Mayor and candidate for state attorney general Pete Serrano will continue to serve as the top federal prosecutor in Eastern Washington through a workaround that the Department of Justice announced Monday.

The Department of Justice said Serrano would serve as a special attorney to the attorney general and as first assistant United States attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.

The appointments will allow Serrano to continue to lead the DOJ’s offices in Eastern Washington after Democratic Sen. Patty Murray previously vowed to block his confirmation as the U.S. attorney for Eastern Washington.

However while he was appointed interim attorney in August, the president never formally nominated Serrano to serve in the role on a permanent basis, meaning senators did not have the opportunity to vote on his confirmation.

“I appreciate the opportunity to continue serving my community as a member of the Department of Justice,” Serrano said in a statement. “I am honored to continue working with the excellent team we have at the United States Attorney’s Office here in Eastern Washington, and I look forward to doing everything I can to continue keeping this community safe and strong.”

Like in many districts across the country, the Senate has not confirmed a nominee to serve as district attorney for Eastern Washington. 

The first assistant United States attorney can typically serve in the role for 210 days.

Serrano has led the Eastern Washington division of the Department of Justice since August after he was appointed to serve as interim district attorney. However, shortly after, Murray said she would use “every legislative tool” available to her to prevent Serrano from serving in the role in the permanent basis.

By law, an interim district attorney can serve in that capacity for 120 days before they must be confirmed by the Senate, a period that concluded Dec. 9.

In a statement Tuesday, Murray said, “The Trump administration is attempting a transparent end run around the Constitution and Congress by appointing Pete Serrano to a position he is not qualified to hold after the Eastern District declined to extend his tenure as U.S. Attorney.”

“The people of Washington state do not want a January 6th apologist and anti-abortion extremist who lacks basic prosecutorial experience serving as U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Washington,” Murray said in a statement. “This move spits in the face of the law and Congress – and it sets a dangerous precedent and risks jeopardizing the legitimacy of the U.S. Attorney’s office moving forward.”

Following his initial appointment in August, Murray had the ability to block Serrano from receiving senate confirmation through a process known “blue slips” if the senate formally received his nomination.

Murray’s options included either declining to return a blue slip for Serrano or returning the form with a negative response – both moves that would have likely killed his nomination under a longstanding Senate process that effectively gives home-state senators the ability to veto the nomination of district court judges or U.S. attorneys who would serve in their state.

According to the Congressional Research Service, “blue slips” have been used by the Senate Judiciary Committee since at least 1917 as senators consider appointments to either the judiciary or the U.S. attorney. Under the process, a slip is sent to both senators from the home state of the nominee seeking their assessment.

If the slip is returned to the judiciary committee’s chairman with a positive response from the senator, the nomination moves forward. However, if the slip is returned with a negative response or not returned at all, the nominee’s confirmation process is effectively halted.

President Donald Trump has consistently criticized the process, calling blue slips a “disgrace” during a press event in the Oval Office Monday.

“They should not be relevant anymore,” Trump said. “This is a different world than it was 15 or 20 years ago. That was a gentleman and gentlewoman world. This is a little different, unfortunately.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated on Dec. 17, 2025, to reflect that Serrano was never formally nominated to serve as district attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. The new version also clarified what authority Serrano has in his current role.