President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to nominate Federal Trade Commissioner Melissa Holyoak, a former Utah Solicitor General, to be the U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah.
Bloomberg reports that Trump is set to nominate Holyoak to replace former U.S. Attorney Trina Higgins, who resigned her post in February. Higgins was the first woman to serve as the top federal lawyer in Utah. Felice Viti took over as acting U.S. Attorney following Higgins’s departure.
Holyoak, a Republican, served as Utah’s solicitor general under former Attorney General Sean Reyes from 2020 to 2024. Former President Joe Biden nominated her to one of the Republican seats on the FTC in 2023, where she was confirmed last year.
As an FTC commissioner, Holyoak opposed the agency’s rule banning non-compete clauses in employment contracts and fought efforts aimed at making it easier for consumers to end recurring subscriptions.
Holyoak came under some fire earlier this year after reports that she was working remotely from Utah, even after President Trump ordered most federal employees to return to the office full-time or be fired.
