Andrew B. Benson has been sworn in as the United States Attorney for the District of Maine, according to an announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Portland. Benson was nominated by President Donald J. Trump on September 30, 2025, and was appointed by Attorney General Pamela Bondi effective October 22, 2025, pending Senate confirmation. He took his oath of office on that date before U.S. District Court Chief Judge Lance E. Walker.
As U.S. Attorney, Benson is now the chief federal law enforcement official for Maine. He leads a staff of 45 employees and contractors based in Portland and Bangor, which includes 21 attorneys and 21 support personnel along with three contractors. The office handles prosecution of federal crimes such as terrorism, public corruption, child exploitation, firearms offenses, and narcotics cases. It also represents the United States in civil litigation and manages debt collection owed to the government.
Benson is a native of western Maine and grew up in Bethel. He attended local schools before earning an honors degree in German literature from the University of Maine at Orono and later received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Maine School of Law in 1988.
His career began as a prosecutor for a district attorney’s office in central Maine where he handled serious felony cases. In 1999, he became one of three senior homicide prosecutors for the Maine Attorney General’s Office under Andrew Ketterer, overseeing homicide cases statewide during his fifteen years there and handling more than 100 murder and manslaughter prosecutions.
In 2014, Governor Paul LePage nominated Benson to serve on the bench of the Maine District Court; he was renominated by Governor Janet Mills in 2021. On both occasions he received unanimous confirmation from the Maine State Senate.
During his time as a judge, Benson presided over hundreds of trials including many criminal jury trials involving serious charges. He resigned from this judicial role to take up his new position as U.S. Attorney for Maine.
“This matter occurred on the date indicated, but the press release was not published at that time due to the federal government shutdown,” according to an editor’s note included with the announcement. “The release was posted and made available following the return to normal operations.”
