Missouri Gov. Mike Parson appointed Andrew Bailey — an unwavering supporter of President Trump and member of Parson's general counsel — to the Missouri attorney general position in 2022.
Bailey's direct predecessors as attorney general, Sen. Eric Schmitt and Sen. Josh Hawley, both left the position after being elected to the U.S. Senate. Now, Bailey too will leave before completing his term to assume a federal role.
According to Jason Rosenbaum, a political correspondent at St. Louis Public Radio, Bailey's jump from the state to national level isn't surprising — but the timing is.
"I think the fact that, like this, seemingly came out of nowhere, it's happening in the midst of when the FBI is kind of ensnared in the debacle over Jeffrey Epstein's files... I think it's just creating this aura and environment of confusion among Missouri political people," Rosenbaum said.
Whereas Schmitt and Hawley left office to fill open Senate seats, Bailey's departure isn't to fill a vacancy. Rather, it's to share a position already occupied by Dan Bongino.
According to CBS News Justice Department reporter Jake Rosen, that position has traditionally been held by FBI agents who have worked their way up the ranks — a precedent broken by both Bongino and Bailey.
Rosen says it remains to be seen whether the two will remain co-deputy directors, or if Bailey will displace Bongino, who has recently clashed with Trump.
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe appointed former House Speaker Catherine Hanaway to fill the rest of Bailey's term as attorney general. Hanaway has indicated that she intends to run for the position in 2028, as well.
Greg Vonnahme, a political science professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, said he believes Hanaway's tenure as attorney general will contrast Bailey's.
"This would give us an amount of stability in the attorney general's office that Missouri hasn't had in a while," he said. "It sounds to me like it's going to be less headline grabbing, you know, sort of culture war, national issue, lawsuits, and more the core functions of the attorney general's office."
- Jason Rosenbaum, political correspondent, St. Louis Public Radio
- Greg Vonnahme, associate professor and department chair of political science, University of Missouri- Kansas City
- Jake Rosen, Department of Justice reporter, CBS News
