President Donald Trump’s administration has extended interim U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah’s term for another 210 days, keeping the Republican national committeewoman in place as Nevada’s top Department of Justice official despite strident opposition from the state’s two senators, who usually have a say in such appointments.

The extension made under the Vacancies Reform Act came before Chattah’s temporary 120-day tenure was set to expire on Tuesday, after which judges for the U.S. District Court of Nevada would have had the opportunity to appoint Chattah or another candidate of their choice to the role. Chattah, who was appointed to the interim role in April, has now had her title updated to “acting” U.S. attorney. 

Her initial appointment prompted criticism because she was continuing her political activities when federal prosecutors are expected to maintain neutrality.

“I am now the Acting United States Attorney for the District of Nevada and Special Attorney to the Attorney General. Rinse and repeat: The law is the ONLY thing that makes ALL people equal,” Chattah posted on X. 

Typically, nominees for U.S. attorneys are approved by the U.S. Senate, but Nevada’s two Democratic senators, Sens. Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto, have said they would oppose her appointment by using the Senate’s rules allowing home-state senators to block the nomination process. 

“I will continue doing everything I can to block any permanent appointment of extremist Sigal Chattah as Nevada’s U.S. Attorney,” Rosen said in a statement. “She is deeply unfit for this role, and I call on the legal system to immediately remove her.”

Cortez Masto said in a statement that the Trump administration’s maneuver “sets a dangerous standard” and that her position remains the same that “Sigal Chattah is unfit for this role.”

Ahead of her extension, Reuters reported that more than 100 retired federal and state judges urged the state’s district court to not permanently appoint Chattah this week, citing her "extreme partisan bias" and a past of racially charged comments. 

Rising to political prominence in 2020 by challenging the state’s COVID-19 restrictions, Chattah previously operated her own law firm in Las Vegas. During a run for Nevada attorney general in 2022, a leaked text from Chattah said that her potential Democratic opponent, Aaron Ford — a Black man — "should be hanging” from a crane.

The Trump administration has used similar tactics to keep the president’s former personal attorney, Alina Habba, as the interim U.S. attorney in New Jersey after federal judges declined to extend her term. Interim U.S. Attorney John Sarcone in the Northern District of New York also had his term extended through the Vacancies Reform Act.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Nevada and the U.S. District Court of Nevada did not immediately return requests for comment on Tuesday. 

Chattah’s tenure as U.S. attorney has raised questions about her continued work as a national committeewoman for the state Republican Party. In April, Chattah was listed on the agenda of a Nevada Republican Party meeting as the national committeewoman — potentially violating Department of Justice rules against its employees participating in political activities. 

She later said that she had “walked away” from her responsibilities but did not resign the position; on the party’s website, she is no longer listed as holding the role.

As a private attorney, Chattah also filed numerous lawsuits challenging Nevada’s election laws, leading an effort from the state Republican Party to cancel the 2024 Republican presidential primary as well as challenging a state law that seeks to protect election workers from harassment. Both cases were unsuccessful. 

In her short term thus far as Nevada’s U.S. attorney — a role that has her prosecuting federal cases and defending the U.S. in civil litigation — the majority of cases Chattah has overseen were initiated by her predecessor, former Democratic lawmaker Jason Frierson. In April, she announced a probe into misappropriated funding for a high-speed internet project in rural Nevada.