AUSTIN — Aaron Reitz, a former Deputy Attorney General for Legal Strategy at the Texas Office of the Attorney General, has been appointed to serve as the next U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, according to the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
According to Paxton’s office, Reitz served as Deputy Attorney General for Legal Strategy from fall 2020 to spring 2023. In that role, the office said, he led lawsuits and legal initiatives on behalf of the state, including litigation related to border security, energy and agriculture policy, election administration, technology company regulation, COVID-19 regulatory challenges, litigation against the U.S. Department of Justice, and cases involving religious liberty and gun rights.
“Aaron was an invaluable asset to my legal team as my Deputy Attorney General for Legal Strategy. I thank him for his strong leadership, which was key to our success in defending our constitutional values and system of government,” Paxton said in a statement. “I know Aaron will be an outstanding U.S. Attorney and will serve the Southern District of Texas with integrity and a strong commitment to the rule of law that will undoubtedly advance the cause of justice in our state.”
“I’m grateful for Attorney General Paxton’s kind words. But more than that, I’m grateful for the years of leadership and mentorship he’s given me, and for the trust he placed in me to lead some of our state’s highest-impact investigations and litigation. I wouldn’t be where I am today without Ken Paxton, and I look forward to working with his office as U.S. Attorney,” Reitz said in a statement.
Background
According to Paxton’s office, Reitz worked in private practice and clerked on the Texas Supreme Court after graduating from the University of Texas School of Law. Before entering the legal field, he served as an active-duty officer in the United States Marine Corps and deployed to Afghanistan. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University.
After leaving the Texas Office of the Attorney General in 2023, Reitz served as chief of staff to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz. He was subsequently nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Policy, a position he was confirmed to and held before entering private practice at the law firm Hance Scarborough LLP.
About the position
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas leads one of the largest federal prosecutor’s offices in the country. The district covers a wide swath of South and coastal Texas, including Houston, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Laredo, McAllen, Galveston, and Victoria — and handles a large volume of federal criminal cases including narcotics, human trafficking, public corruption, and border-related prosecutions.
Source: Office of the Texas Attorney General
