EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, announced Tuesday night that the Senate has confirmed El Paso’s former District Attorney Jaime Esparza as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas.
“I am proud to announce that El Pasoan Jaime Esparza has been officially confirmed as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas. Having lived and worked in El Paso for most of his life, Mr. Esparza will no doubt bring a valuable local and regional perspective to this prestigious role.”
Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16)
In January of 2021, Escobar wrote to President Biden recommending Esparza’s nomination and coalesced additional support from leading national and Texas-based organizations.
“I am grateful to the Senate for his confirmation today. Throughout my tenure in Congress, I have advocated for outstanding El Pasoans to serve in important government positions, and Mr. Esparza is no exception. I have full confidence in his ability and have no doubt he will be deeply committed to this new position in his long public service career,” Escobar said.
As a district attorney, Esparza secured the state’s capital murder indictment of suspected Walmart shooter Patrick Crusius. Esparza will now become a key figure in deciding whether to pursue the death penalty against Crusius. Federal prosecutors agreed on January 17, 2023, as the date to decide on whether to seek the death penalty in that case.
The Senate’s confirmation vote now sends Esparza’s nomination for the President’s signature.
Esparza served as the district attorney for the 34th Judicial District of Texas from 1993 to 2020. He previously served as an assistant county attorney in the El Paso County Attorney’s Office in 1992 and was the first assistant public defender for the El Paso County Public Defender’s Office from 1988 to 1991. Esparza served as an assistant district attorney for the 34th Judicial District of Texas in 1987 and as an assistant district attorney in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in Houston, Texas from 1983 to 1987.
Esparza received his J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 1983 and a B.B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1979.