Trump Nominates Barr as Next Attorney General

Trump Nominates Barr as Next Attorney General

President Donald Trump announced that he is nominating William Barr as Attorney General.

"He was my first choice from day one, respected by Republicans and respected by Democrats. He will be nominated for the U.S. attorney general and hopefully, that process will go very quickly, and I think it will go very quickly," said Trump to reporters as he left the White House. 

The move comes a month after Trump forced the resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and named Matthew Whitaker as acting Attorney General.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Barr will now wait to be confirmed by the Senate. 

About Barr

Barr, now 68, served as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush from 1991 to 1993 and currently is Of Counsel at Kirkland & Ellis law firm in Washington.

Before serving under Bush, Barr was deputy attorney general and also led the Office of Legal Counsel.

According to his bio, he served in the CIA from 1973 to 1977.

Congressman David Cicilline released the following statement: 

“President Trump believes the Department of Justice exists to protect his political interests. It’s no surprise, then, that he’s nominated a man who has criticized the Mueller investigation, defended the Comey firing, and proposed new investigations into the Clintons.

Fortunately, the Constitution requires that the Senate advise and consent on this nomination. I hope that Mr. Barr will make clear during his nomination hearings that he will recuse himself from any investigations where his impartiality would be in doubt. The American people deserve to know that the Attorney General is protecting the Constitution and rule of law, not the narrow political interests of the President.”