President Biden has nominated federal prosecutor Jessica Aber to be the next U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

       Aber, who has worked in the office since 2009, helped prosecute former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell, whose conviction on bribery charges was ultimately overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. She is currently the deputy criminal chief in the office; she also has handled criminal health-care and procurement fraud cases.

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       Before joining the U.S. Justice Department, Aber was an associate at McGuireWoods and a law clerk for then-Magistrate Judge Hannah Lauck.

       She replaces acting U.S. attorney Raj Parekh, who was the first person of color in that role. He did not compete for the permanent position. Virginia’s two senators had recommended both Aber and John Hall, a civil attorney and former prosecutor.

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       The announcement comes weeks after the White House made two nominations for federal judgeships in the Eastern District of Virginia — Patricia Giles, another federal prosecutor, and Michael Nachmanoff, a magistrate judge and former federal public defender.

       Biden also nominated a candidate for U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia — Chris Kavanaugh, a federal prosecutor since 2014 who has handled national security and domestic terrorism cases. Kavanaugh, who lives in Charlottesville, prosecuted the avowed neo-Nazi who drove into a crowd of protesters during a far-right rally in 2017, killing one. He also helped prosecute four Blackwater guards for killing unarmed civilians in Iraq. The guards were pardoned last year by President Donald Trump.

       In a statement, U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, both Democrats, said they were “pleased” with the nominations. “After a thorough review of their distinguished records, we believe they will serve Virginia and the country with distinction.”