Jonathan Skrmetti starts term as Tennessee attorney general


Jonathan Skrmetti’s (R) term as Tennessee attorney general began Sept. 1. The Tennessee Supreme Court appointed Skrmetti to the position on Aug. 10, 2022, to replace Herbert H. Slatery (R). 

Prior to this appointment, Skrmetti served as Gov. Bill Lee’s (R) chief legal counsel. From 2018 to 2021, he was the chief deputy to the attorney general. Skrmetti graduated from Harvard Law School.  

As of this writing, Tennessee was a triplex. A state government triplex is a term to describe when one political party holds the following three positions in a state’s government: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. Tennessee is one of 23 states with a Republican triplex.  

Tennessee is unique in that the attorney general is appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court, rather than the governor. The attorney general is directly elected in 43 states, appointed by the state legislature in Maine, and appointed by the governor in the remaining five.

Main page: https://ballotpedia.org/Jonathan_Skrmetti 

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