Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna became president of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) on Wednesday night, and simultaneously received the organization’s highest award.

“Rob McKenna represents an Attorney General’s sense of justice, fairness, and strength, and through his adherence to these strong ideals, he will continue to provide sensible guidance as President of NAAG,” Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller wrote in a letter to colleagues.

McKenna’s new responsibilities at NAAG come as state attorneys general deal with a powerful industry: the nation’s largest banks. Many of the attorneys general believe faulty foreclosure practices illegally impacted a significant number of Americans. McKenna says his new role at NAAG will help him focus and expand his work to correct such practices.

“Perhaps the worst fallout from the Great Recession is that so many families lost their homes — their nest eggs,” said McKenna, a Bellevue resident. “Faulty mortgage lending practices were at the epicenter of the economic earthquake and years later, flawed foreclosure procedures delivered yet another blow. State attorneys general have a ground-level perspective on the mortgage crisis and what to do about it.”

State attorneys general are in negotiations with the biggest lenders over how to correct foreclosure practices.