Sigal Chattah | |
|---|---|
| United States Attorney for the District of Nevada | |
Acting | |
| Assumed office April 1, 2025 Interim: April 1, 2025 – July 29, 2025 | |
| Appointed by | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Jason Frierson Sue Fahami (acting) |
| Republican National Committeewoman from Nevada | |
| In office January 16,2023 –August 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Michele Fiore |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 24,1975 Israel |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Widener University School of Law (JD) University of Nevada,Las Vegas (BS) |
Sigal Chattah (born April 24,1975) is an Israeli-born American attorney and politician currently serving as the interim United States Attorney for the District of Nevada since 2025. She was the Republican nominee in the 2022 Nevada Attorney General election,where she was defeated by incumbent Democrat Aaron D. Ford. Prior to her candidacy,she was an attorney known for leading legal efforts for churches during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nevada.
Chattah was born on April 24,1975,in Israel and emigrated to the United States with her parents at the age of fourteen. The family initially settled in New York but temporarily returned to Israel before relocating to Las Vegas,Nevada. [1] Chattah graduated from Valley High School and later earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from the University of Nevada,Las Vegas. She later attended the Widener University School of Law and Webster University Geneva. [2]
In 2002,Chattah opened her own law firm in Las Vegas,where she practices domestic and international law. She also taught political science at the University of Nevada,Las Vegas,from 2005 to 2009. [3] [4] In July 2019,the Las Vegas City Council unanimously ratified Chattah's appointment to the Las Vegas Planning Commission,where she served for four years representing Ward 2. She also served on the Southern Nevada Disciplinary Board of the State Bar of Nevada. [5]
During the COVID-19 pandemic in Nevada,Chattah represented churches in challenging the state's 50-person occupancy limit during lockdowns and filing an emergency petition for a preliminary injunction,requesting a judge to declare that Governor of Nevada Steve Sisolak's orders violated constitutional rights. [6] [7]
In March 2021,Chattah announced that she would run for Nevada Attorney General in the 2022 election,challenging incumbent Democrat Aaron D. Ford. [8] She stated that her decision was motivated by her belief that the state's pandemic restrictions and shutdowns were unconstitutional. [9] Chattah ran against Tisha Black,a business attorney based in Las Vegas,in the Republican primary. During the campaign,Chattah criticized Black for having previously donated to then-Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak,a Democrat. [10] She won against Black in the Republican primary. [11]
In January 2022,journalist Sarah Ashton-Cirillo leaked text messages in which Chattah compared incumbent Ford to the leader of Hamas and stated that he "should be hanging from a fucking crane," which drew widespread criticism and were condemned as inappropriate. She stated that she did not believe Chattah was racist or that the comments were intended to reference Ford's race,but said her reason for releasing the messages was to raise concerns about Chattah's temperament. [12] Because of the leak,Ford refused to debate Chattah during the election,stating that he would not debate someone who "didn't respect [his] dignity as a human or [his] humanity." [13] Ford defeated Chattah in the general election,with HuffPost highlighting the leaked texts as a significant issue during the campaign. [14] [15]
In December 2022,Chattah and retired attorney Pauline Ng Lee ran for a seat on the Republican National Committee,seeking to fill the vacancy left by Michele Fiore. [16] Chattah received endorsements from national figures such as Matt Gaetz and Richard Grenell. She was elected to the Republican National Committee seat in January 2023,defeating Lee by 75 votes. [17]
In March 2025,President Donald Trump announced the appointment of Sigal Chattah as the interim United States Attorney for the District of Nevada. U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto referred to Chattah as an "election denier who has advocated for political violence," while Senator Jacky Rosen stated that she would do "everything in [her] power to block her confirmation." [18] [19] She took office as interim attorney on April 1,2025. [4] She continued to be listed as a Republican National Committee committeewoman and was introduced virtually at a Nevada Republican Party meeting on April 5,with her participation prompting concerns by the The Nevada Independent about a possible violation of U.S. Department of Justice rules prohibiting political activity by its employees. [20]
In July 2025,Trump extended Chattah's term as interim U.S. Attorney for an additional 210 days,before her 120-day term was set to expire. Masto and Rosen have said they would block her nomination using Senate rules. [21] Trump's extension of Chattah's term prevented a federal court from rejecting her permanent appointment or appointing a new U.S. attorney. [22] Prior to her extension,over 100 federal and state judges wrote a letter calling for the court to not permanently appoint Chattah,citing her "extreme partisan bias" and previous racial comments. [21] [22]
In August 2025 following a child sex predator sting operation, Tom Alexandrovich, a senior Israeli government official, was arrested, accused of soliciting sexual acts from a minor in Chattah's jurisdiction; he was released on bail and returned to Israel. Chattah wrote a post on X blaming "a liberal district attorney and state court judge" for not confiscating Alexandrovich's passport. [23] Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson, to whom Chattah's X post referred, disputed Chattah's post as "a rant with false claims" and challenged her fitness to serve. [24] Reporting on the controversy noted Chattah's history of negative remarks regarding Palestinians, including referring to them "as “animals”, called for wiping the territory “off the map”, and suggested that “even the children” in the enclave are “terrorists”." [25] Following the controversy, Axios reported that some criticism of Chattah, such as by Candace Owens, included references to her Israeli origin. [26]