Catherine Hanaway has been sworn in as Missouri’s 45th attorney general. The former U.S. attorney and Missouri House speaker replaces Andrew Bailey, who stepped down to become co-Deputy Director of the FBI.
Shortly after being sworn in, Hanaway said her priorities are to “fight crime” and “protect Missourians.”
“My emphasis will also be on making sure that our local prosecutors and sheriffs have the support that they need,” she said, “that all the other functions of the office, like Medicaid fraud enforcement, consumer protection, the no-call list, the protections we have for our farmers and agriculture, are points of emphasis.”
She also praised her predecessors, defending Bailey’s track record of getting involved in high-profile, national political and cultural issues — which include investigating progressive outlet Media Matters, suing the State of New York for prosecuting President Donald Trump and repeated attempts to sue and investigate the Biden Administration, some of which were successful.
“I absolutely positively believe in and will defend the constitutional rights of Missourians, and that's what I really think that they did,” she said. “And so, I'm going to continue to pursue the defense of the Constitution and to bring cases when Missourians’ constitutional rights have been invaded.”
Hanaway said she doesn’t see the job as political.
But at the Missouri State Capitol, across the street from where Missouri Supreme Court Judge Ginger Gooch swore Hanaway into office, Missouri Republicans are working on redrawing Missouri’s maps to give Republicans more seats — which Hanaway may have to defend in court.
“I don't think there's any constitutional prohibition on redistricting mid-decade,” she said. “What the Constitution says is, you know, they have to be as compact as possible and as clearly reflect the population as possible. I'm not so sure that 2020 census clearly reflected the population. So, I don't think it's wrong that we're taking another look.”
Hanaway first entered public office in 1998, when she won a seat in the Missouri House. She became the first and only woman to be House Speaker in 2003. She is also the state’s first female attorney general.
“I'm proud to have the position,” she said. “I do think it means something, particularly to other women, that a woman is in this role. My mission is to do this job as well as I humanly, possibly can, and I don't think that depends particularly on gender.”
