For a few hours on Nov. 13, Rhineland resident Andrew Bailey was considered among the frontrunners to be nominated as President-elect Donald Trump’s next U.S. attorney general.
Just a week …
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For a few hours on Nov. 13, Rhineland resident Andrew Bailey was considered among the frontrunners to be nominated as President-elect Donald Trump’s next U.S. attorney general.
Just a week after winning his first full term as Missouri attorney general, Bailey reportedly spent time with Trump at Mar-a-Lago interviewing for the job, according to numerous sources close to the attorney general and multiple media reports.
But by the afternoon of Nov. 13, Trump made his choice official, and it wasn’t Bailey. Instead, he tapped Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to lead his Justice Department.
A spokeswoman for Bailey did not respond to a request for comment.
Bailey had never run for public office before Missouri Gov. Mike Parson tapped him to replace Schmitt as attorney general in 2022. At the time, he was serving as Parson’s general counsel. He previously worked as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Warren County and as an assistant attorney general.
He is an army veteran that was awarded two Army Achievement Medals, an Army Commendation Medal, a Combat Action Badge and two Bronze Star Medals for his service.
His time as attorney general has been defined by confrontation — lawsuits against the federal government, investigations of health care providers and public fights with other statewide elected Republicans.
His most high-profile cases since becoming attorney general include twice suing to block federal student loan forgiveness and carrying forward a lawsuit alleging the Biden administration was colluding with social media companies to censor conservative speech.
His office is involved in four different lawsuits regarding medical records of transgender children — part of his effort to end gender-affirming care in Missouri. Bailey has claimed credit for the closure of Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Bailey has also been unflinchingly loyal to Trump, including publicly endorsing the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and unsuccessfully attempting to intervene in the criminal case against him in New York that resulted in 34 felony convictions.
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