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.
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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."
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