Jeff Mateer | |
|---|---|
| First AssistantAttorney General of Texas | |
| In office April 2016 – October 2020 | |
| Attorney General | Ken Paxton |
| Preceded by | Chip Roy |
| Succeeded by | Brent Webster |
| Personal details | |
| Education | Dickinson College (BA) Southern Methodist University (JD) |
Jeffrey Carl Mateer is an American lawyer. From 2016 to 2020, he served as First Assistant Attorney General of Texas. In September 2017, he was nominated by PresidentDonald Trump to become aUnited States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas; however, the nomination was withdrawn in December 2017.[1]
Mateer previously served as general counsel of theFirst Liberty Institute, a conservative religious liberty advocacy group headquartered inPlano.[2] He returned to the Institute, following his resignation from the Attorney General's Office.[3]
Mateer earned hisBachelor of Arts with honors fromDickinson College and hisJuris Doctor with honors from theDedman School of Law. He spent nearly 20 years litigating in private practice, where he handled a range of trial and appellate matters. He then became general counsel and executive vice president of theFirst Liberty Institute.[4] In two 2015 speeches, he described the issue of transgender children as a deception and "part ofSatan's plan".[5] He also spoke in opposition to state bans onconversion therapy at a conference hosted byKevin Swanson, a pastor who preaches that the Biblical punishment for homosexuality is death.[2] Mateer said that the legalization of same-sex marriage could lead to the legalization ofpolygamy andbestiality.[2]
From 2016 to 2020, Mateer served as the First Assistant Attorney General of Texas under Attorney GeneralKen Paxton, supervising the state's active litigation matters.[4] Upon resigning, he filed a complaint against AG Paxton alleging wrongdoing along with other top attorneys in the litigation division.[6]
Following his public service, Mateer returned to the First Liberty Institute.[3][7]
On September 7, 2017, PresidentDonald Trump nominated Mateer to serve as a United States District Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, to the seat vacated by JudgeRichard A. Schell, who assumedsenior status on March 10, 2015.[8] Mateer was recommended to the White House by SenatorsJohn Cornyn andTed Cruz.[9] After Mateer's remarks about transgender children being part of "Satan's plan" and his support forconversion therapy were publicized in late September 2017,John Cornyn, the senior Republican Senator from Texas and then-Senate Majority Whip, expressed skepticism about Mateer's suitability to sit on the federal bench.[10] Cornyn and members of a committee that screens Texas judicial candidates said that Mateer had not disclosed the statements.[9] Cruz said that he still supported Mateer's nomination.[5] In December 2017, Mateer's nomination for the federal judiciary was withdrawn.[1] On January 3, 2018, his nomination was returned to the President underRule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of theUnited States Senate.[11] On January 8, 2018, the White House renominated 21 of 26 federal judicial nominees who had been returned by the U.S. Senate. Mateer was not among them.[12]
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | First AssistantAttorney General of Texas 2016–2020 | Succeeded by Brent Webster |