Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee said they aren’t bothered by the White House’s repeated sidestepping of the traditional confirmation process for U.S. attorneys.
Rather than bemoaning a loss of institutional power, Republicans say President Donald Trump’s moves are necessary because Democrats are blocking the long-standing bipartisan tradition of quickly confirming U.S. attorney nominees.
In the northern district of New York, Trump appointed John Sarcone as “special attorney to the attorney general” after a panel of judges attempted to remove him from his interim position. In New Jersey, Trump may adopt a similar tactic to keep Alina Habba — his former defense lawyer — in power as U.S. attorney, even after federal judges tried to appoint a different successor.
The White House’s practice is effectively sidestepping the role of the Judiciary Committee in approving U.S. attorney nominees. But this isn’t bothering Republicans.
“The president has a right to not go along with what the judges want,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said. “It’s going around the fact that all U.S. attorneys are being held up here. You’re talking about a universal problem that we have in all 93 districts, not just in New York and New Jersey.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a former chair of the panel, struck a similar tone.
“I’m more concerned about what Democrats are doing to force things like this,” Graham said. “If you’re associated with Trump, you work with Trump, you help Trump, you can’t serve in the government — that’s BS.”
We’ll note that the Judiciary Committee is holding a business meeting today to consider the nominations of seven Trump nominees for U.S. attorney, including Jeanine Pirro as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, a high-profile post.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said Republicans are complaining that “We are requiring [U.S. attorney nominees] to have votes and be treated separately, not to be processed en bloc and moved in bunches. But that was the precedent set by his Republicans, including JD Vance and Josh Hawley.”
The view from the Garden State. Predictably, New Jersey Democrats are apoplectic at the Habba situation.
“We have had numerous years in the Senate where we worked in a bipartisan way to come up with U.S. attorneys that are focused on public safety, and this is a violation of that,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said.
“I am concerned about any and all avenues that they can take to try to impose Habba on my state. She’s someone that has clearly shown she’s not fit for that job,” Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) added.
