Whitaker graduated with a Master of Business Administration, Juris Doctor and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Iowa. While at Iowa, Whitaker played tight end for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes football team, appearing in Iowa's Rose Bowl game in 1991.
Whitaker ran as a Republican for Treasurer of Iowa in 2002. He lost to incumbent Democrat Michael Fitzgerald by 55% to 43%,[4]
On June 15, 2004, Whitaker was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa by President George W. Bush. Whitaker resigned in November 2009 following the appointment and confirmation of Nicholas A. Klinefeldt, who was appointed by President Barack Obama.[2][5][6]
Whitaker was a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2014 United States Senate election in Iowa. The seat was being vacated by Democrat Tom Harkin. He came fourth in the Republican primary, with 11,909 votes (7.54%). The nomination was won by Joni Ernst, who went on to win the general election.[7]
Afterwards, Whitaker was a managing partner of Des Moines-based law firm Whitaker Hagenow & Gustoff LLP (now Hagenow Gustoff and Dummermuth LLP). He was also Executive Director of conservative watchdog group The Foundation for Accountability & Civic Trust (FACT).[8]
In October 2014,Whitaker was named a member of the Advisory Board for World Patent Marketing.[9] In May 2018 World Patent Marketing was shut down by the Federal Trade Commission for fraud.[10][11]
Department of Justice[edit]
On August 6, 2017, one month prior to joining the Justice Department, Whitaker wrote an opinion column for CNN titled "Mueller's investigation of Trump is going too far."[12] Then on September 22, 2017, a Justice Department official announced that Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Whitaker to be his Chief of Staff.[13] Then in early September 2018, Whitaker was revealed to be on the short list of President Trump's White House staff as the replacement for Don McGahn as the White House Counsel.[14][15][16] During the commotion created by conflicting reports about Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's firing, potential resignation and eventual retention on September 25, 2018, Whitaker is reported to have told officials that he would assume Rosenstein's post, while control of the Russia investigation would fall to the Solicitor General, Noel Francisco.[17] The New York Times reported on September 25, 2018 that White House chief of staff John Kelly advised Whitaker that he would be appointed acting deputy attorney general should Rosenstein exit, and described Whitaker as a Trump loyalist who, if appointed, "could have visibility into the special counsel’s work."[18] In addition to the deputy attorney general role, The Washington Post reported on October 10, 2018 that President Trump had also spoken with Whitaker about potentially assuming Jeff Sessions role as Attorney General.[19] With the resignation of Jeff Sessions on November 7, 2018, Whitaker was appointed to serve as Acting Attorney General.