William Barr served as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush and he may have an opportunity to return to his old job.
President Donald Trump announced this morning that he will nominate Barr for attorney general to replace Jeff Sessions.
Trump told reporters that Barr “was my first choice since day one” and that he thinks “he will serve with great distinction.
Barr served as attorney general under Bush for two years. His former colleague Pat Cipollone currently serves as White House counsel.
From The Wall Street Journal:
Mr. Trump said that Mr. Barr is “respected by Republicans, respected by Democrats,” adding that he hoped the nomination process “will go very quickly.”Mr. Barr would be a more conventional choice than some other candidates the president considered, according to advisers and people close to the White House, and would likely face better confirmation odds in the Senate. But his appointment is unlikely to quiet critics of the acting attorney general, Matthew Whitaker.
Barr has voiced criticism over Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into possible collusion between Trump and Russia in the 2016 election:
Mr. Barr has also called for “more balance” among the prosecutors working for Mr. Mueller, noting that some of them have made political contributions to Democrats. Mr. Mueller is a registered Republican. Mr. Barr also publicly supported Mr. Trump’s call last year for the Justice Department to investigate 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, saying there was “nothing inherently wrong” with such a call. Presidents typically avoid public calls for investigations to avoid the appearance of interfering with matters of justice.
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