“I can think of no greater mission than that of public service and it is the honor of a lifetime to now serve in the capacity of US Attorney,” Foley said in a statement. “I am profoundly humbled by the opportunity to serve our great nation as the chief federal law enforcement officer in Massachusetts.” Foley has been a federal prosecutor for 23 years, first serving as an assistant US attorney for the District of Columbia and, most recently, the District of Massachusetts after joining the office in 2006. Prior to being appointed as US attorney, Foley served as deputy chief of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit in the US attorney’s office, where she supervised international and domestic narcotics investigations and international money laundering, immigration, human trafficking, and firearms cases. She also served as the lead attorney for Boston’s Organized Crime & Drug Enforcement Task Force since 2013. She has prosecuted a number of high-profile drug trafficking and sex trafficking crimes . Indeed, on Tuesday she was in court prosecuting a man on trial for fentanyl and cocaine trafficking charges. Foley was sworn in as US attorney by US District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, who is presiding over the trial. “She’s very qualified and will do a great job,” said Boston attorney Brian T. Kelly, a former federal prosecutor. “She has years of experience as a federal prosecutor and knows both the office and the criminal justice system very well.” The country’s 94 US attorneys are political appointees who historically step down following a change in administration from one political party to another. That usually leaves the first assistant US attorney to lead the office until the president’s nominee passes an intensive background check and is confirmed by the Senate. But Trump appears to be moving faster. Joshua Levy, a Democratic appointee, resigned as US attorney for Massachusetts last week, leaving First Assistant Mary B. Murrane to assume the role of acting US attorney for what turned out to be only several days. “I guess there’s a sense that the sooner [Trump] can get his people in, the better, and the situation presents itself here where they’ve got the candidate they want who is already in the system,” Kelly said. “I think every administration wants to act quickly on their own agendas and the best way to do that is to put people who are aligned with your mission in important offices.” Foley was a finalist for the job when it went to Andrew Lelling, who served as US attorney for Massachusetts during Trump’s first term. On Tuesday, Lelling described Foley as “a very tough prosecutor” who handles difficult, complex cases. The US attorney for Massachusetts oversees about 200 attorneys, paralegals, and other staff in offices in Boston, Springfield, and Worcester. Prior to joining the Justice Department, Foley served as counsel to the US Senate Judiciary Committee from 1998 to 2002. She advised the late Senator Orrin G. Hatch, a Republican from Utah, on drug policy and other criminal law matters; negotiated policy issues; assessed American law enforcement initiatives abroad; and worked with foreign law enforcement and other officials to combat international drug trafficking. She graduated from the University of Louisiana and received a law degree from Loyola Law School, as well as a Master of Law from Georgetown University Law Center.
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