President Donald Trump wants to nominate D.C. lawyer William Barr, President George H.W. Bush’s top law enforcement official, to replace Jeff Sessions as his next Attorney General.
While the president does not know Barr, he likes the respect he commands from fellow conservatives and the bipartisan support that he has received in the past, source told AF-MG.com.
Other sources inside the West Wing however told us that President Trump could still tap someone else to run the Justice Departments. Those sources believe Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Tex.,) and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to still be under consideration. One source placed high up within Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign told AF-MG.com that Barr would be a bad choice, adding that “Barr could be even worse than Jeff Sessions.”
Jeff Sessions, Trump’s last Attorney General, resigned at the request of the president following the November midterm elections. For over a year, Trump publicly slammed Sessions for his recusal in the Russia investigation. Several weeks ago, the President named Matthew Whitaker, Sessions’ chief of staff and an outspoken critic of Robert Mueller as acting attorney general.
On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that Barr is the leading candidate to replace Sessions. The D.C. paper cited two sources in its report, who allegedly said that Trump has told a slew of advisers and aides in recent days that he intends to nominate Barr.
This revelation follows Bush’s funeral, which Trump attempted on Wednesday in Washington.
Barr, 68, currently works at the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis in Washington, D.C.
Prior to serving as Bush’s attorney general, Barr was deputy attorney general and headed the Office of Legal Counsel.
Barr graduated from Columbia University with a degree in government and received a law degree from George Washington University.
Prior to serving under Bush as attorney general, Barr was deputy attorney general and led the Office of Legal Counsel.
Harry Cherry is a Reporter for AF-MG.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RealHarryCherry.
