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Sigal Chattah

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Sigal Chattah
United States Attorney for the District of Nevada
Interim
Assumed office
April 1, 2025
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded byJason Frierson
Sue Fahami (acting)
Republican National Committeewoman
from Nevada
In office
January 16, 2023 – April 1, 2025
Preceded byMichele Fiore
Personal details
Born (1975-04-24) April 24, 1975 (age 50)
Israel
Political partyRepublican
EducationWidener 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 to churches during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nevada.

Early life and education

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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]

Career

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Early career

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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]

Runs for Nevada Attorney General and RNC

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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]

United States attorney

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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 interm 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]

References

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  1. ^ Kampeas, Ron (December 19, 2021). "A Nevada conservative running for attorney general leans hard into her Israeliness". The Times of Israel.
  2. ^ Lacanlale, Rio (October 19, 2022). "Nevada attorney general race pits reform-minded incumbent against 'tough-on-crime' GOP lawyer". Reno Gazette-Journal.
  3. ^ Hill, Jessica (June 9, 2022). "Get to know the prime contenders in Southern Nevada's midterm primary races". Las Vegas Weekly.
  4. ^ a b Thompson, James (April 2, 2025). "Attorney Sigal Chattah Assumes Role as Interim U.S. Attorney for Nevada District". Hoodline.
  5. ^ Haas, Greg (March 28, 2025). "State Republicans say Sigal Chattah nominated for Nevada U.S. Attorney post". 8NewsNow.
  6. ^ Ferrara, David (May 22, 2020). "Nevada lawyers petition federal judge to reopen churches". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
  7. ^ Ferrara, David (December 8, 2020). "Churches' lawyers challenge 50-person occupancy limit due to COVID-19". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
  8. ^ "Republican Sigal Chattah announces candidacy for Nevada Attorney General". 3 News. March 5, 2021.
  9. ^ Appleton, Rory (March 17, 2021). "Chattah cites COVID restrictions in campaign against Ford for AG". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
  10. ^ Gentry, Dana (May 20, 2022). "Chattah, Black spar in Republican AG primary". Nevada Current.
  11. ^ "Nevada GOP picks Las Vegas lawyer to try to unseat Democratic AG". FOX 5 Vegas. June 15, 2022.
  12. ^ Dentzer, Bill (February 11, 2022). "AG candidate, in feud with former ally, says text not racist, leaked to damage her". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
  13. ^ Hagar, Ray (July 28, 2022). "AG Ford calls remark by GOP's Chattah 'racist,' won't debate her before Nevada election". Reno Gazette-Journal.
  14. ^ Roberts, Alyssa (November 10, 2022). "Attorney General Aaron Ford issues victory statement in 2022 re-election campaign against Sigal Chattah". Channel 13.
  15. ^ Shuham, Matt (14 November 2022). "Nevada Democrat Defeats Right-Wing Culture Warrior to Win Second Term as AG". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 2022-12-27. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  16. ^ Hill, Jessica (December 30, 2022). "Two Republican women seek to represent Nevada on RNC". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
  17. ^ Hill, Jessica (January 16, 2023). "Sigal Chattah is new national rep to the Republican National Committee". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
  18. ^ Birenbaum, Gabby (March 28, 2025). "Trump names GOP attorney Sigal Chattah as interim U.S. attorney for Nevada". The Nevada Independent.
  19. ^ Chouinard, Kyle (March 28, 2025). "Sigal Chattah named interim US attorney for Nevada". Las Vegas Sun.
  20. ^ Birenbaum, Gabby; Neugeboren, Eric; Aldrete, Isabella (April 5, 2025). "Sigal Chattah blurs conflict of interest lines by continuing political activity as new U.S. attorney". The Nevada Independent.
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