U.S. Attorney for 43-county Houston region up for confirmation

Ryan Patrick, a former state district judge and son of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is expected to testify Thursday before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, as nominee to be the new U.S. Attorney for the Houston region.

Patrick, 38, a private attorney who studied at Baylor University and South Texas College of Law Houston, was appointed to the bench by Gov. Rick Perry in 2012. He lost that seat in the 2016 election sweep by Democrats,  after earlier working as a Harris County assistant district attorney from 2006 to 2012. He was also a political director for Harris County's Republican party, from 2002 to 2004.

The Southern District of Texas encompasses 43 counties, with one of the busiest criminal dockets in the country, stretching from the Louisiana border through the Houston area to the Mexican border in Laredo. It is a hub for drug and human trafficking and is at the heart of immigration, Medicare fraud and white-collar investigations.

The U.S. attorney's post has been vacant since March, when Ken Magidson, a career prosecutor, was forced to resign by the Trump administration along with dozens of others appointed by President Barack Obama.

A popular former judge with impeccable Republican credentials, Ryan Patrick was a front runner for the top prosecutor's position.

His father has been an ardent supporter of Trump. Dan Patrick chaired Cruz's Texas campaign until Cruz withdrew from the presidential race, then immediately switched his allegiance to Trump.

Patrick is married with three young children.