Hiland receives committee’s OK

Trump’s nominee closer to job

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s nominee to be U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas moved a step closer to confirmation Thursday.

By a voice vote, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee forwarded the nomination of Cody Hiland to the full U.S. Senate. The Conway man, who currently serves as the 20th Judicial Circuit prosecuting attorney, faced no opposition at the hearing.

The Eastern District consists of 41 of Arkansas’ 75 counties, including Pulaski and the counties surrounding it.

The state’s two U.S. senators, John Boozman of Rogers and Tom Cotton of Dardanelle, had recommended Hiland for the post and welcomed Thursday’s vote.

“I am pleased that Chairman [Charles] Grassley and the Judiciary Committee gave swift approval of Cody Hiland’s nomination. He is a highly-qualified, successful prosecutor who will be an excellent U.S. Attorney,” Boozman said in a written statement. “Senator Cotton and I will work with Senate leadership to encourage quick floor consideration of Cody’s nomination so he can begin working to make our communities safer.”

Cotton spokesman Caroline Rabbitt said Thursday’s vote was a positive development.

“Sen. Cotton is pleased his nomination passed out of the Judiciary Committee, and he looks forward to supporting him [Hiland] when the full Senate takes up his nomination,” she said.

Hiland, 45, declined to comment on the Judiciary Committee vote. Judicial and U.S. attorney nominees typically don’t answer questions from the media until the confirmation process has been completed.

Originally from Bee Branch, Hiland is a graduate of the University of Central Arkansas and the William H. Bowen School of Law in Little Rock. He passed the Arkansas bar exam in 2002.

A former aide and legislative liaison for then-Gov. Mike Huckabee, Hiland worked as a staff attorney and liaison for the Arkansas Public Service Commission and was program director for the Arkansas Transitional Employment Board.

He later went into private practice and was a partner at Hiland, Thomas and Cox before his election as prosecutor in 2010.

Voters in the 20th Judicial Circuit, which includes Faulkner, Van Buren and Searcy counties, re-elected Hiland in 2014.

Hiland lost a bid for the Arkansas Court of Appeals in 2016. He also ran unsuccessfully for the state House of Representatives in 2006.

The president hasn’t yet nominated anyone to serve as U.S. attorney in the Western District of Arkansas. Lawmakers aren’t sure when that announcement will be made.

“The White House continues to move forward with U.S. Attorney announcements so we are hopeful that nomination will be forthcoming soon,” Boozman spokesman Patrick Creamer said.