Posted on 11/12/2018 11:00:23 AM PST by Red Badger
Congressmen, confidantes and TV commentators are among those being considered by the White House.
WASHINGTON — Two members of congress, a cabinet official, a presidential confidant and a frequent guest on Fox News are among those being considered by President Donald Trump to be the next attorney general, multiple sources tell NBC News.
One of those, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, was a close adviser to the president in his 2016 presidential campaign. He has been largely sidelined by the administration since then but resurfaced at the White House on Thursday for what White House officials said was for a previously scheduled meeting on prison reform.
Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, and retiring Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, have also joined the list of those in the running, the sources say.
Ratcliffe, a former political appointee of President George W. Bush who was later appointed to be U.S. Attorney of the Eastern District of Texas, has become a top candidate.
He was elected to Congress in 2014 and has been named as the most conservative Texas legislator by the Heritage Foundation. He made a name for himself when he grilled former FBI agent Peter Strzok in a House Judiciary Committee hearing about text messages he sent ahead of the 2016 election.
Gowdy, who led the House investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's handling of the attack that led to the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi, is retiring from Congress at the end of the year and was a prosecutor before coming to Congress. He and Trump have had a contentious relationship, especially since Gowdy voted “present” on a House bill to keep the House’s Russia investigation going when every other Republican voted “no.”
Neither Ratcliffe nor Gowdy’s office responded to requests for comment.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who is close to Gowdy, has become an adviser to the president on the position. Frequently mentioned for the job himself, Graham has said repeatedly that he is not interested. But anticipating that Sessions would be fired or would resign, he has been working on a list of potential replacements to present to the president.
And Graham, who could be the next chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, could have a large say on if the nominee is successful in the Senate.
Graham said he discussed Sessions’ successor with the president at the White House on Thursday. “I’m confident the White House is looking for someone who the President and country can have confidence in, and be confirmed by the Senate,” Graham said in a statement.
Other names that have been discussed include Noel Francisco, the current solicitor general of the United States, who was appointed by Trump last year. Trump’s Health and Human Services secretary Alex Azar is also a contender, sources tell NBC News.
Azar's spokeswoman, Caitlin Oakley said the secretary is happy in his current job. "Secretary Azar has repeatedly said that this is the best job he has ever had and that this is his dream job. He plans to continue serving President Trump as his HHS Secretary."
Andrew McCarthy, a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of new York and current columnist for the National Review, is also said to be under consideration. McCarthy is a common guest on Fox News, which Trump appreciates in an official.
McCarthy has also written that acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker could be amidst an “audition” for the permanent gig. Whitaker, Sessions former chief of staff, has spoken negatively about the Russia probe when he was an analyst on CNN.
But Whitaker’s appointment is unlikely, unless he is removed from the acting position. Under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, a person appointed to the position of Acting Attorney General who has not previously been confirmed by the Senate must step out of the acting position in order to be confirmed on a permanent basis.
Finally, losing Kansas gubernatorial candidate Kris Kobach has been mentioned as well. Kobach, a former Kansas secretary of state and member of Trump’s transition team who led a failed advisory board to investigate voter fraud, has also made a name for himself on hard right immigration policies. But most observers say it would be quite difficult for Kobach to ever be confirmed by the Senate because of his controversial positions on hot button issues.
Getting passed the Senate will be a key requirement for any nominee. At least three Republicans have already said that protecting the Mueller investigation is a critical concern.
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said the Mueller probe “must be allowed” to continue. Senator-elect Mitt Romney tweeted “it is imperative” the probe continues, and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said it will “undoubtedly be an important issue during the confirmation.”
Face it folks, whoever is chosen will do nothing more the next two years than Sessions did the last two. Justice is dead.
You mean Chris Christie?
I know Kris Kobach personally. He is one of the finest, honest, most intelligent person I have ever met. His character and professional and academic credentials are impeccable. Whatever the reason for shutting down the commission, I don’t hold Kris responsible.
I believe he would have to resign if he was nominated in order to go through the nominating process. So then who do you put in charge for the nominating period with no guarantee he gets confirmed?
I didn't know that. Is this the same if it was a recess appointment - they would need to resign to go through the nominating process?
I’m not sure, but I did read recently that someone in the “acting” position cannot be in the position that they are being nominated for. He would have to resign, or be re-assigned, I presume, to a different position, to allow for his nomination to be considered by the Senate. That causes the problem of who does Trump put in the acting position while Whittaker is considered...not a show stopper, but something to consider.
Does he use vasoline?
Does he use vasoline?
Based on his reformation since McCain departed this realm, I’d take Graham over any of the lot of them, ‘specially McCarthy or Gowdy.
Gowdy: All hair. No cattle. Just rattle.
“I’d take Graham over any of the lot of them...”
Limp Lindsay has a whole lot more proving to do before he gets a gig like AG.
The inevitable short list would make one think that America has a dearth of lawyers.
This is not a popularity contest. Pick a Constitutional bulldog, and start the purging of globalist apparatchiks.
Ask him why the commission didn’t buy the information. I could not believe the commission strategically allowed Democrats to shovel shit at the fan. Anyone who ran for office in the two parties or does marketing knows the data is for sale. Who was the bonehead that caused the two lost years? I still think not pursuing vote fraud hurt the chances at retaining control of the House.
It wasn’t Kobach’s decision.
” I think it will be Christie.”
Hush your mouth!
Thanks for telling me that. Can you find out how the decision was made?
Sure the confirmation would be hard, maybe even she would go down. Fine, backup plan then is: someone else.
The hearings would be fantastic. If voted down we could harangue the Tards about hating qualified women and trying to maintain a Leftist male lock on law enforcement.
She is a former prosecutor and judge, seems quite well qualified, certainly as much as either of Obongo's two sycophants.
Despite substantial evidence of voter fraud, many states have refused to provide the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity with basic information relevant to its inquiry. Rather than engage in endless legal battles at taxpayer expense, today President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order to dissolve the Commission, and he has asked the Department of Homeland Security to review its initial findings and determine next courses of action.
Vice President Mike Pence, who was tasked with running it, was never particularly excited about the idea, and several members of the commission had objected to working with Mr. Kobach, according to a White House official. The WH caved, not Kris Kobach.
The WH was getting lots of flak from Dem interest groups claiming the objective of the commission was voter suppression.
Many Democratic secretaries of state had said they believed the commission had a goal of laying the groundwork for restrictions that will mostly make it harder for traditional Democratic constituencies — minorities, young people and the poor — to cast ballots, which would benefit Republican candidates.
Thanks again! Hopefully a change at Homeland Security will make a difference before 2020.
I know. I knew someone would comment.
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