Mary Beth Buchanan

Who is Mary Beth Buchanan?

Mary Beth Buchanan, née Kotcella, was the United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania. She was nominated by George W. Bush on September 5, 2001, and confirmed by the United States Senate on September 14, 2001.

Buchanan was the first woman and youngest person ever in Pennsylvania's history to be appointed to this position, and she has been viewed by some, such as former U.S. Attorney General Richard Thornburgh and former U.S. Attorney Fred Thieman, as one of the more controversial U.S. Attorneys in the history of Pennsylvania. Under Attorneys General John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales, Buchanan continuously held two key Justice Department posts, splitting time between Washington, D.C. and Pittsburgh up until her resignation as Acting Director of the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women in December 2007. In May 2010, Buchanan, a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district, was defeated in the Republican primary.