Kyle Bumgarner (left) takes the oath of office beside his wife Kori Beck Bumgarner, Eighth Circuit Commonwealth’s Attorney, and their two sons Bronson, 7, and Walker, 5, Monday, June 2, 2025. Chief District of the Western Kentucky District, Judge Greg N. Stivers presided over the proceedings. Bumgarner was sworn in before family and friends at the Federal Courthouse in Bowling Green. Photo by Joe Imel/Daily News)

Attorney Kyle Bumgarner of Bowling Green was sworn in Monday as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, becoming the top federal prosecutor for a 53-county jurisdiction covering the western half of the state.

United States Attorneys are nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and serve four-year terms, supervising an office of assistant U.S. attorneys and support personnel.

The Western District of Kentucky features courthouses in Bowling Green, Louisville, Owensboro and Paducah, and Bumgarner is believed to be the first U.S. Attorney for the district from Bowling Green.

Dr. Gregg Farrell, senior pastor at Crossland Community Church, delivered the invocation, and U.S. District Court Chief Judge Greg Stivers administered the oath of office during a ceremony Monday morning at the Federal Building in downtown Bowling Green.

Bumgarner thanked a number of people in attendance for their support, including his wife, current Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney Kori Beck Bumgarner.

“Kori’s the real lawyer in the family,” Bumgarner said. “As good as she is at that, she’s a better mother and wife.”

Bumgarner comes to the position from the Bowling Green law firm of Kerrick Bachert, where he focused on practicing commercial and employment law.

His colleagues in attendance also received recognition at Monday’s ceremony.

“You’ve mentored me, supported me and encouraged me, and I think this is a testament to each of you and your successes,” Bumgarner said.

Bumgarner is the son of a U.S. Army Colonel and said that his father instilled in him the values of “duty, honor and country.”

He moved frequently during his childhood because of his father’s work, but on Monday, Bumgarner described himself as “proudly a Bowling Green attorney.”

Bumgarner graduated from Centre College and obtained his law degree from Northern Kentucky University, where he finished in the top of his class at Salmon P. Chase College of Law.

From there, he served as a law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning in the Eastern District of Kentucky and practiced at the Louisville firm of Fultz, Maddox, Hovious and Dickens before coming to Bowling Green.

“Through the talented prosecutors in this office, we stand committed to fighting the drug epidemic and violence that has ravaged our communities, combating the fraud that has been perpetrated against our institutions and protecting vulnerable victims that are preyed upon by ruthless criminals,” Bumgarner said in an e-mail. “Our goals cannot be achieved without selfless and heroic work from our federal, state and local law enforcement officers — particularly those on the front lines — who will receive unwavering support from our office.”