Former US Attorney Catherine Hanaway appointed as Missouri's next attorney general

Former U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway has been appointed as Missouri's next attorney general

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Former U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway was appointed Tuesday as Missouri's next attorney general, vowing a tough-on-crime approach as her predecessor leaves for a job with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe announced Hanaway's appointment just a day after Attorney General Andrew Bailey said he was stepping down to join President Donald Trump's administration as the FBI's co-deputy director. The change in Missouri's top law enforcement job will take effect Sept. 8.

“Fighting crime is — and will remain — job one for this office” Hanaway said.

Hanaway has deep roots in Missouri politics and extensive ties as a private practice attorney to corporate clients that will cause her to recuse from some cases as attorney general.

Hanaway first won election to the Missouri House in 1998 and led the GOP takeover of the chamber in the 2002 elections as the state began a gradual transition from a political tossup to a GOP stronghold. She served as Missouri's first and only woman House speaker before losing a bid for secretary of state in 2004. She was appointed the next year by President George W. Bush as U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Missouri, which she held until 2009.

She lost a Republican primary for governor in 2016.

As a partner at the Husch Blackwell law firm, Hanaway has represented global chemical manufacturer Bayer in lobbying for legislation that would provide a legal shield against mounting claims that it failed to warn customers that its popular Roundup weedkiller can allegedly cause cancer.

Husch Blackwell also represents Invenergy, which is attempting to use eminent domain to acquire land for a high-voltage transmission line to carry wind-generated power from Kansas across Missouri and Illinois to an electric grid in Indiana. Bailey has opposed the project, and Hanaway said she will recuse herself as the attorney general's office continues a civil investigation into it.

Bailey, a staunch Trump supporter, has served as attorney general since January 2023 and won election last November to a full four-year term. Hanaway said she intends to serve the remainder of Bailey's term and seek election herself in 2028.

Bailey brought an aggressive approach to the attorney general's office. He pursued numerous legal challenges against Democratic President Joe Biden's administration on policies ranging from student loan forgiveness to environmental rules, immigration actions and transgender rights measures.

He also pursued conservative causes in his home state, threatening legal action against private gyms over bathroom policies, demanding that public schools ban drag shows and defending the state's anti-abortion regulations in the face of a voter-approved constitutional amendment establishing a right to abortion.

Hanaway praised Bailey but placed a greater emphasis on criminal cases than civil litigation while talking to reporters Tuesday.

Missouri's attorney general job has become a quick stepping stone for aspiring politicians.

Less than a year after winning election as attorney general in 2016, Republican Josh Hawley launched a challenge to Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill. After Hawley won election to the Senate in 2018, Republican Gov. Mike Parson appointed state Treasurer Eric Schmitt to serve the remainder of Hawley's term.

Schmitt won election to his own term as attorney general in 2020, but then quickly announced he was running to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt in the 2022 elections. After Schmitt won the Senate race, Parson appointed Bailey — an Army veteran serving as the governor's general counsel — to fill the remainder of Schmitt's term.