Two U.S. Senators blasted the Trump administration’s nominee to be the federal attorney for Wyoming, calling Darin Smith unqualified and alleging he made false claims about the Jan. 6 insurrection he attended.
Sens. Dick Durbin and Peter Welch, Democrats from Illinois and Vermont, respectively, urged their colleagues to vote against Smith’s nomination at a meeting of the Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
“There’s got to be some standard of qualification to give this kind of power to an individual who has no background, none whatsoever, when it comes to criminal or federal court experience,” Durbin said. “Mr. Smith … is not remotely qualified to be a U.S. Attorney.”
“His words in support of Jan. 6 are disqualifying for him to serve as U.S. attorney.”
Sen. Peter Welch
Welch weighed in too. “His words in support of Jan. 6 are disqualifying for him to serve as U.S. attorney,” the Vermont senator said. “I mean, seriously, what are we doing?”
The committee voted 12-10 along party lines to forward Smith’s nomination to the full Senate. “The Senate is expected to confirm his nomination this month,” Smith’s spokesperson, Lori Hogan, wrote in an email Wednesday. In a second email from his office Thursday, Smith declined to comment further on the nomination.
Wyoming’s delegation, all Republicans, cheered Smith when Attorney General Pam Bondi nominated him earlier this year. Sen. John Barrasso called Smith “well-qualified.”
Sen. Cynthia Lummis said Smith had the experience and values for the role and Rep. Harriet Hageman endorsed him as well, saying, “I trust that he will uphold the rule of law, defend Wyoming values, and work tirelessly to keep our communities safe.”
Withering criticism
Smith is an attorney who ran unsuccessfully in the 2021 GOP primary against U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney. He was then elected in 2024 to the Wyoming Senate, representing Platte and parts of Laramie counties. He resigned that seat after Bondi appointed him as interim U.S. Attorney. Taft Love replaced him in the Wyoming Senate.
“I am honored to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Wyoming and thank Attorney General Bondi for placing her trust in me,” he said in a statement when he was appointed. “It is a privilege to lead this great office, and I look forward to working with our federal, state, and local partners to protect the public and defend the interests of the United States.”
Smith’s nomination came up against withering criticism Thursday at the Judiciary Committee meeting. Durbin called his nomination “a mockery of the nomination process.
“Apparently, his only qualification is his loyalty to MAGA orthodoxy,” Durbin said. “He has no criminal or Federal Court experience, nor has he ever tried a case to verdict, judgment or final decision.
“We asked him to list significant legislation he’d been involved in,” Durbin continued. “He left it blank.”
Durbin criticized Smith further, alleging he “just happened to be on the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6,” when “a violent mob assaulted police officers, destroyed government property and attempted to thwart our democratic process.”
Durbin did not accuse Smith of rioting.
Durbin continued, alleging Smith “baselessly claimed that hundreds of Capitol police officers who risked their lives that day were guilty of ‘massive incompetence.’” He alleged that Smith claimed rioters who breached the Capitol were “the victims of entrapment” and that Smith supported the pardoning of Jan. 6 rioters.
False claims?
Durbin also said Smith falsely claimed that FBI agents who interviewed him about Jan. 6 were sent by “Liz Cheney and her goons” and that Smith “baselessly accused Vice President Harris of being a murderer.” Durbin also had trouble with Smith’s alleged criticism of LGBTQ protections, constitutional due-process protection for non-citizens and other things.
Welch, too, was particularly upset with Smith’s appearance at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and his support of rioters there. “I categorically reject that cop beaters should be pardoned,” Welch said.
The committee had already rejected the nomination of Ed Martin to serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia “due to his ties to Jan. 6 and other things,” Welch said.
“It’s really shocking to me that we’re in the process of forgetting that 150 officers were injured that day,” Welch said. “We’re rewriting history about Jan. 6.
“People attacked police officers, and now we’re considering the nomination of an individual who was involved in the activities of that day,” Welch continued, “not that I’m accusing him of being one of the assailants … he didn’t go into the Capitol, but he was here in support.”
Welch said Smith claimed the rioters were entrapped — a statement supported by an interview Smith gave in 2024.
“So he’s blaming the police officers for what the assailants did,” Welch said. “Every one of us, [in] my view, should condemn that language.”
Interim appointment
Smith is representing the government in litigation involving the United States in Wyoming, including criminal prosecutions, civil suits and other actions. He earned a B.S. from the University of Wyoming in 1996 and a J.D. from the University of Wyoming College of Law in 2000, according to information he provided upon his appointment.
Bondi appointed Smith as interim attorney in August and he swore his oath of office on Aug. 11, according to information from the Department of Justice. His interim appointment was valid for 120 days and expired Dec. 9.
Wyoming’s Chief U.S. Judge Kelly Rankin on Dec. 4 extended Smith’s appointment as allowed under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998. That extension allows Smith to serve “until the vacancy is filled.”
Rankin’s judicial appointment clears Smith of potential entanglements similar to those that dogged another interim appointment by Bondi — that of Alina Habba to be the U.S. Attorney in New Jersey. She resigned Dec. 8 after two lawsuits brought by criminal defendants alleged Habba was serving unlawfully.
“Habba is not eligible to serve as acting U.S. attorney,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit ruled on Dec. 1. Judges said the Trump administration cannot sidestep the Federal Vacancies Reform Act as it attempted to do by appointing Habba to serve beyond the act’s time limits.
Competence is so Woke!
Mr. Smith was supporting what went on January 6 has Trump‘s goons raided the capital building of the United States as Congress was certifying a legal election. Trump‘s goons made Congress run for their lives. They rubbed human feces on the walls in the Senate one of them was in Nancy Pelosi‘s chair with his feet on her desk. They were going to hang the vice president of the United States and they had a Gallo out front. They attacked and beat police officers these people are criminals. You can gaslight people and say it was just another day in Washington DC it was nothing really,I happen to see it with my own eyes on TV these criminals busting windows, climbing walls breaking doors vandalizing the building and Mr. Smith supports this so does Trump and he turns these 1600 criminals loose and these people know about law and order really
Can we PLEASE stop the “insurrection” gaslighting??? If you think Jan 6th was an insurrection, you have no clue as to what one really is. Maybe you should read your history books. Then again, we were told the Native Americans were the savages.
Okay. It was an “attempted” insurrection. Are you happy now? Because there are very few ways to describe what happened that day.
Really sad that we appoint individuals, not because of their knowledge or abilities to perform the duties of an office, but because of their political affiliations. Surely there must be a Wyoming Republican out there that has at least tried a criminal case in court, or has federal experience. Smith’s legal experience is in asset protection, estate planning and real estate law. On the surface it seems that his only outstanding qualifications are that he was a former chairman of Laramie Cnty GOP, he campaigned in the 2021primary against Liz Cheney, & conveniently withdrew his candidacy right after Trump endorsed Hageman, served for 8 months in our legislative body, and oh ya….he sponsored SF 184, doing away with electronic voting and going back to paper votes and hand counting. BTW, none of the 3 bills he co-sponsored passed during the 2025 legislative session. So, I’m just extremely curious why Bondi thinks he’s such an outstanding candidate, cause on the surface I don’t see it, unless it was a quid pro quo from Trump for 2021.
Kakistocracy. It’s how the GOP rolls. And most WYites I live around seem fine with it. Gotta wonder if an appreciation of competence, quality and integrity is actually a feature of the state’s population, contrary to our egocentic claims.
Go Darin! You’ll be great. This bunch of sharks gave Justice Thomas the same treatment. At least Darin knows what a woman is.
That be Justice Thomas with the $267K RV financed by a healthcare exec, and who gets luxury vacation trips from GOP donor Harlan Crow, right? Who me, ethics? Nothing to be concerned with here, Pete, move along.
A lawyer that has never tried a case but can kiss ass better than others. Yep, perfect fit for you chrump lemmings.
And Thomas has been worse than one could imagine so thanks for making the point against Darin’s appointment.
Y’all are fun! The Dems just want another patsy to play lawfare with.
This is not surprising at all. All the rest of the dump people are crazy as bat***. Thankfully, the dump administration is losing ground and the people have had enough of the orange menace. He’s circling the drain, both politically and health wise. Our three federal groupies need to be voted out of office.
Dick Durbin, another career slimeball, and Welch, Bernies lapdog. They want to talk about credibility lol, that’s funny.
After listing to the news on the Epstein files does GOP stand for generation of pedophiles?
They are pedos or pedo protectors.
Trump signed a bill mandating the release of all Epstein BS in 30 days, coming due about … now. Yawwn ….
No, it’s Group of Pedophiles, after all, it’s multi-generational.
Blatantly unqualified. The only way Darin Smith could be nominated for this important position is through the obvious cronyism of the state GOP. Shame on Barrasso, Lummis and anyone else who supported this sham.
Dick Durbin is a buffoon from corrupt Illinois and Welch is a co-hort of socialist millionaire Bernie Sanders. Like either have any credibility.
Excellent use of ad hominem attack. It cleverly allows you to ignore the legitimate concerns that Durbin and Welch raise regarding Darin Smith’s qualifications.
Insurrectionist traitor. He’ll fit right in with all the other lemmings.
Wyoming should be embarrassed.
I’m just looking forward to seeing a handful of things this state does politically that isn’t embarrassing, let alone counter to the best interests of Wyomingites. We have it in us as citizens of this state to do better. I know we’re capable because we’ve done some pretty great things in the past. Moving on from the Freedom Caucus would probably a great start.
No, it’s Group of Pedophiles, after all, it’s multi-generational.