Bilal Ali "Bill" Essayli is an American lawyer and politician. A Republican, he previously represented California's 63rd Assembly District from 2022 to 2025, covering cities including Canyon Lake, Corona, Eastvale, Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Norco, Riverside, Temescal Valley, and Woodcrest. He is the son of Lebanese-American immigrants and the first Muslim elected to the California State Assembly. Currently, he serves as the First Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California, leading a team of 500 lawyers and staff enforcing federal law across a region of nearly 20 million people. He briefly held the role of interim U.S. Attorney from April to July 2025, though a federal judge ruled the extended tenure improper without Senate confirmation.

Notable achievements include prosecuting violent crimes, organized crime, bank fraud, and white-collar offenses as a federal prosecutor; responding to the 2015 San Bernardino terrorist attack; and securing a conviction against a doctor for unlawful opioid prescriptions causing deaths. In the Assembly, he championed "tough on crime" policies, parental notification for transgender students, voter ID requirements, opposition to COVID-19 restrictions and critical race theory, and investigations into state homelessness fraud as U.S. Attorney.

Education and Political Experience

• Education: Graduated from Centennial High School; first in his family to earn a college degree with a BA from the Kellogg Honors College at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; JD from Chapman University School of Law.
• Political Experience:
  • Riverside County Deputy District Attorney .
  • Assistant United States Attorney , handling major cases in Los Angeles and Riverside offices.
  • Unsuccessful 2018 run for California State Assembly against Sabrina Cervantes.
  • California State Assemblymember, 63rd District , focusing on conservative issues.
  • Interim U.S. Attorney, Central District of California .
  • First Assistant U.S. Attorney, Central District of California ; launched task forces on homelessness fraud, Title IX violations, and opposed local gas appliance fees.