On March 5, 2019, President Donald Trump nominated Regent University alumnus Timothy J. Downing (LAW ’10) to serve as United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma. Downing passed through the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 9 and was confirmed by the full Senate via voice vote on May 23. He took the oath of office on June 5.
U.S. Attorney for the Western
District of Oklahoma
According to the Justice Department’s website, “As the United States Attorney, Mr. Downing is the chief federal law enforcement officer responsible for all federal criminal prosecutions and civil litigation involving the United States in the Western District of Oklahoma.” Prior to becoming a U.S. Attorney, the Oklahoma native served in that state’s House of Representatives from 2016 to 2018. He was an assistant attorney general for the Sooner State from 2011 to 2016 and has served as a judge advocate in the U.S. Army Reserve since 2011.
Downing grew up in a small town in rural Oklahoma. After high school, he worked his way through college and served in the ministry. “I always had a strong sense of calling for public service,” Downing explains, “which was bolstered by two major formative events in my life: the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing and the attacks on September 11, 2001. After years of feeling led to go to law school, my wife and I prayed and decided to move our young family halfway across the country so I could attend Regent Law.”
While the husband and father of four admits that pursuing a law degree at that stage in life was challenging, it’s a decision he doesn’t regret. “Regent has an outstanding record of preparing students for incredible success,” Downing insists. “While it’s important to pass the bar and get a job, Regent goes much further by intentionally preparing its law students to be leaders and world changers in whatever career path they choose to use their law degree.”
Calling the practice of law a “sacred duty,” he says, “Regent professors challenged me not just to be the best I could academically, but also to be the best leader I could in the legal profession and in public service. To this day, there are still quotes and conversations with Regent faculty that come to mind when I am faced with challenging circumstances.”
Downing adds, “God called me to a place where I could be equipped and surrounded by mentors who believe law is more than a profession, it’s a calling.”
Please join the entire Regent University community in praying for Alumni World Changer Timothy J. Downing.
