Trump will maybe, possibly get around to nominating a new attorney general one of these days


Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions got the boot three weeks ago, and President Trump reportedly plans to leave his replacement, Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker, in office for a while longer.
Both Republicans and Democrats have spent the past few weeks calling on the president to nominate a permanent attorney general who will actually face a Senate confirmation process. But seeing as Trump is "satisfied with Whitaker's performance" and has chosen "no clear frontrunner" to replace him, he's in no hurry to comply, sources tell Bloomberg.
Trump's leisurely deliberations may have something to do with Whitaker's opposition to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe, Bloomberg suggests. While Trump repeatedly skewered Sessions for recusing himself from Mueller's investigation, Whitaker publicly denounced the probe before getting a Justice Department job. And in a Tuesday interview with The Washington Post, Trump said he thinks Whitaker is "doing an excellent job."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Critics have also suggested Whitaker's loyalty could be why Trump bypassed the Senate-confirmed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to elevate the former DOJ chief of staff in the first place. Senate Democrats have since sued to oust Whitaker from the job, and even Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) questioned the lengthy nomination process Monday, saying "How long does it take to make up your mind who you want to be your attorney general?"
Seeing as Trump toyed with the idea of ousting Sessions for months before he actually did, it appears the answer to Grassley's question is "a while."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
September 6 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include profiting from authoritarianism, and the National Guard entering the CDC
-
Should Britain withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights?
Talking Point With calls now coming from Labour grandees as well as Nigel Farage and the Tories, departure from the ECHR 'is starting to feel inevitable'
-
5 outspoken cartoons about Epstein survivors taking center stage
Cartoons Artists take on cover-ups, Trump surrounded, and more
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
-
Florida aims to end all state vaccine requirements
Speed Read Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to cut vaccine access and install anti-vaccine activists at the FDA and CDC
-
US kills 11 on 'drug-carrying boat' off Venezuela
Speed Read Trump claimed those killed in the strike were 'positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists' shipping drugs to the US
-
Trump vows to send federal forces to Chicago, Baltimore
Speed Read The announcement followed a California judge ruling that Trump's LA troop deployment was illegal