FACT SHEET: Information on Alexander COKER VAN HOOK, Trump's nominee To the WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

Career Dominated by Prosecution

• Van Hook served in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Louisiana from 1999 to 2025, spending over two decades exclusively in prosecutorial roles without significant experience in criminal defense, civil rights advocacy, or private practice representation of individuals.

• During his tenure, Van Hook rose through multiple leadership positions including Assistant U.S. Attorney, Deputy Criminal Chief, Acting U.S. Attorney, Special Counsel to the U.S. Attorney, and First Assistant U.S. Attorney.

Limited Professional Diversity

• Beyond his prosecutorial career, Van Hook's professional experience is confined to brief clerkships and summer associate positions early in his career, providing limited exposure to the full range of legal perspectives typically considered valuable for balanced judicial decision-making.

• Van Hook clerked for Judge Henry A. Politz of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and Judge Tom Stagg of the Western District of Louisiana. 

• His only non-prosecutorial experience includes a clerkship in the Office of the Executive Counsel for Louisiana Governor Murphy J. Foster and summer associate positions at Thompson & Knight and Cook, Yancey, King & Galloway in 1996.

Educational Background

• Van Hook earned his B.A. from Centenary College of Louisiana in 1993 after beginning his undergraduate studies at Louisiana State University.

• He received his J.D. from Louisiana State University's Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1997.

Concerns About Judicial Independence

• Van Hook's nomination to the same district where he spent his entire prosecutorial career raises additional concerns about his ability to maintain appropriate distance from former colleagues in the U.S. Attorney's Office who will regularly appear before him.