Joe Biden taps former Missouri prosecutor to lead U.S. attorney's office in Kansas

President Joe Biden announced Tuesday his intention to appoint Kate Brubacher, a former Missouri prosecutor, to lead the U.S. attorney's office in Kansas.

Brubacher most recently served as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Jackson County, Missouri, the county that includes Kansas City. While there, Brubacher garnered attention for her work on a team supporting the release of Kevin Strickland, who spent four decades in prison for a murder he did not commit, before his release last year.

Brubacher also worked on a federally funded initiative, dubbed Smart Prosecution, that aimed to engage neighborhoods to apply restorative justice to resolve cases. She also spearheaded a project aimed at curbing gun violence in Kansas City.

Prior to her work in Jackson County, Brubacher also worked for the New York law firms Cooley LLP and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and led a project to support women affected by the Liberian civil war. She originally hails from North Newton.

Brubacher must still be confirmed by the U.S. Senate and the timeline for the confirmation process is still unclear. If confirmed, she would replace Duston Slinkard, a career prosecutor who has been serving as acting U.S. attorney for Kansas since Biden was sworn in last January.

The U.S. attorney's office has three offices in the state in Topeka, Wichita and Kansas City. About 50 federal prosecutors handle cases across the state.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Joe Biden taps Kate Brubacher to head Kansas U.S. Attorney's Office