Tennessee Supreme Court Taps Gov. Lee Adviser As New Attorney General

Gov. Bill Lee’s top legal counsel will become the state’s new attorney general, the Tennessee Supreme Court announced Wednesday. 

Jonathan Skrmetti, former chief deputy attorney general of Tennessee, was the youngest of the six applicants for the position. He’s the third Tennessee attorney general in a row to have served as the governor’s legal counsel immediately prior to their appointment to the seat. 

In a marathon of interviews Monday, the five justices questioned six applicants to the position. Skrmetti is expected to start Sept. 1. 

Tennessee is the only state where the state Supreme Court appoints the attorney general and reporter as part of the judicial, not executive, branch of state government. The attorney general serves for an eight-year term. 

“Mr. Skrmetti has dedicated the majority of his career to public service and has the breadth of experience and vision necessary to lead the attorney general’s office for the next eight years,” Chief Justice Roger A. Page said in an emailed news release from the court. “He is an accomplished attorney with a deep understanding of Tennessee government and our judicial system.”

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