The Cabinet selection that may prove the most difficult to pass the Senate if it is controlled by the GOP may be for Attorney General. Eight names have been floated:
According to media reports, the top contenders for attorney general include Sally Yates, an Obama Administration appointee who served as acting attorney general in the early days of the Trump administration; Doug Jones, a former Democratic senator from Alabama; and Merrick Garland, a judge nominated by Obama for a seat on the Supreme Court who never received a confirmation hearing by the Republican-led Senate. Reference
Doug Jones is reported to be the leading contender.
A fourth name that his been floated is NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Jeremy Paul is former dean of Northeastern’s School of Law. He is quoted here as follows:
Yates has more experience at Justice than Jones and would be a qualified candidate, Paul says, but she may have a tougher path to attorney general because of her role in the FBI’s 2016 Russia investigation.
Also from the article:
“No,” said Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas when asked if he thought Yates would be confirmed if the GOP holds the majority, according to The Hill. Cornyn sits on the Judiciary Committee that vets judicial nominees.
Paul questions how much political capital Biden would be willing to spend fighting for her. The president-elect, himself a former senator, is going to have only so many fights with the Senate, Paul explains. “Is this one that he wants to have?”
Here are four more different potential nominees:
Biden should be considering these four people for Attorney General: Deval Patrick, Neal Katyal, Preet Bharara, and Stacey Abrams.
I have no opinion as to who of these eight would make the best attorney general. However, I want Biden to be able to make his selection based not on who is most likely to be approved by the Senate but who will be the most capable of dealing with daunting tasks necessary to rehabilitate the post William Barr Department of Justice. The new AG will have to restore the DOJ’s role as an independent (read that as non-political) federal law enforcement agency and assure that the “J” in DOJ has meaning again.
I don’t know who is best qualified to do this. If it is one of these highly qualified people and they aren’t confirmed by a Republican controlled Senate it will be a major setback for the Biden administration.
Since there is a chance the Democrats will control the Senate after the Georgia election. This is a chance that has gone from a long-shot to being considered at least more likely than previously thought by bookies (who sometimes do better than polling companies: GEORGIA SENATE RACES 2020 ODDS TRACKER: DEMOCRATS NARROW GAP).
The actual polls are showing the races to be very close:
Here’s the latest from Five-Thirty Eight.
This is all a moot point if Biden selects someone who is likely to be approved why a GOP Senate. On the other hand, if his first choice is Sally Yates or someone else who might not make it through Senate approval, I think there is a good case to be made he should hold off on announcing the nomination until the results of the Jan. 5th Senate election are confirmed.