Interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Thomas E. Wheeler II, is now officially sworn in.
Thomas (Tom) E. Wheeler II, a seasoned attorney with a distinguished career spanning over three decades, has been sworn-in as the Interim United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. The appointment, effective July 14, 2025, was made by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and was conducted by U.S. District Court Judge James R. Sweeney.
Wheeler, a Pike High School graduate and alumnus of Indiana University Bloomington and the Maurer School of Law, has held prominent roles in Indianapolis-based law firms such as Bose McKinney & Evans LLP and Frost Brown Todd (formerly Locke Reynolds).
In government service, Wheeler has held senior positions, including Acting General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Education and Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice. He has overseen divisions like Appellate, Criminal, Disability Rights, Education, Immigrant and Employee Rights, Housing, and Voting. Wheeler has also served as Senior Advisor to the White House Federal Commission on School Safety and Counsel to the Secretary of Education.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wheeler served as Senior Counsel to the Secretary of Education, working closely with the CDC and the White House Coronavirus Task Force, particularly on advisory work related to jails and prisons. His legal expertise has earned him distinctions such as inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® and Indiana Super Lawyers®, and he was named Municipal Lawyer of the Year in 2016.
Wheeler has also served on numerous boards and commissions, including as Chair of the Hate Crimes Subcommittee for the Federal Violent Crime Reduction Task Force. He was a member of the DOJ's Regulatory Reform Task Force and served as General Counsel for the National Sheriffs' Association in 2019.
Notably, Wheeler played a key role in the creation of Indiana's voter ID law, upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board (2008), as a former Chair of both the Indiana Recount and Election Commissions.
President Donald J. Trump has nominated Wheeler for the permanent position, pending Senate confirmation. As Interim U.S. Attorney, Wheeler aims to emphasize prosecuting violent and drug-related crimes in line with the current administration’s priorities.
- In his career, Wheeler has worked extensively in policy-and-legislation related to civil rights, having served as Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice.
- The current news cycle has been filled with general-news about Wheeler's appointment, discussing his past roles in war-and-conflicts advisory work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- With the interim position as U.S. Attorney, Wheeler aims to enforce crime-and-justice policies, focusing on prosecuting violent and drug-related crimes, in accordance with the current administration's priorities.
