Donald Wayne Washington (born January 29, 1955) is an American attorney who served as the 11th director of the United States Marshals Service from March 2019 to September 2021. He previously served as

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Western District of Louisiana, from to 2001 to 2010.

Early life and military service

Born in

Sulphur Springs, Texas Sulphur Springs is a city in and the county seat of Hopkins County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 15,449. Sulphur Springs is located along the western edge of Northeast Texas. History Sulphur Springs was named ...

, Washington graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

with a B.S. degree in engineering in June 1977 and was commissioned an officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

air defense artillery. He served on active duty in the United States and South Korea until June 1982 and then in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020 ...

in Texas until 1986, retiring as a captain.

Career

In 1982, Washington moved to the private sector and began working as an engineer for the American oil company

Conoco Inc Conoco Inc. ( ) was an American oil and gas company that operated from 1875 until 2002, when it merged with Phillips Petroleum to form ConocoPhillips. Founded by Isaac Elder Blake in 1875 as the "Continental Oil and Transportation Company". Curre ...

. In 1983, he began studying for an M.S. degree in engineering at

McNeese State University McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. M ...

but received a job transfer in 1984 before graduating. Beginning in May 1986, he attended the

South Texas College of Law South Texas College of Law Houston (STCL or South Texas) is a private law school in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1923, it is accredited by the American Bar Association. South Texas College of Law Houston is the oldest law school in the city of ...

, began working as a corporate law clerk in 1987 and graduated in December 1989 with a Juris Doctor. Now a lawyer, Washington started serving in corporate and private practice, until he was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Western District of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. On October 2, 2018, Washington was nominated by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

to serve as director of the

United States Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforc ...

. He was confirmed by the Senate on March 14 and sworn in 15 days later. Washington is the 11th director of the Marshals Service, and succeeded acting Deputy Director David Anderson. In June 2022, it was reported that Washington was a potential

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

candidate for Governor of Louisiana in the 2023 election.

References

External links

U.S. Marshals leadership
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Donald W. 1955 births Living people People from Sulphur Springs, Texas United States Military Academy alumni African-American military personnel United States Army officers United States Army reservists McNeese State University alumni South Texas College of Law alumni 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers George W. Bush administration personnel United States Department of Justice lawyers United States Attorneys for the Western District of Louisiana Trump administration personnel United States Marshals Louisiana Republicans