Bill Essayli

Bill Essayli
Official portrait, 2024
First Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California
Assumed office
October 29, 2025
Preceded byJoseph T. McNally
United States Attorney for the Central District of California
Interim
In office
April 2, 2025 – July 29, 2025
Acting: July 30, 2025 – October 29, 2025
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded byE. Martin Estrada
Joseph T. McNally (acting)
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 63rd district
In office
December 5, 2022 – April 1, 2025
Preceded byAnthony Rendon (redistricting)
Succeeded byNatasha Johnson
Personal details
BornBilal Ali Essayli
(1985-11-24) November 24, 1985
PartyRepublican
EducationCalifornia State Polytechnic University, Pomona (BA)
Chapman University (JD)

Bilal Ali "Bill" Essayli (born November 24, 1985) is an American lawyer and politician who currently serves as the First Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California. He previously served as the interim United States attorney for the Central District of California from April to July 2025. A federal judge ruled that he had illegally served as the acting US Attorney. Essayli was disqualified from holding the position because he stayed on beyond the initial interim period without having received official congressional approval, and was immediately reassigned to the First Assistant United States Attorney role.

Essayli served as a member of the California State Assembly from 2022 until 2025. A Republican, he was the first Muslim elected to the California State Assembly, where he represented the 63rd district, which includes Canyon Lake, Corona, Eastvale, Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Norco, Riverside, Temescal Valley, and Woodcrest.