The Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed the U.S. Attorney nominees for South Dakota and Alaska today by unanimous consent.
They are:
Brendan Johnson (from South Dakota Watch blog via Facebook)
-Brendan Johnson (South Dakota): The Sioux Falls lawyer and son of Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) was nominated July 14. He would succeed Marty Jackley, who was sworn in as South Dakota attorney general last month. Read more about the nominee here.
-Karen Loeffler (Alaska): The Alaska interim U.S. Attorney was nominated July 14. She took over the post from Nelson Cohen March 1. Read more about Loeffler here.
Sen. Johnson reportedly said in July he was staying out of the South Dakota U.S. Attorney nomination process. But the senator and his aides engaged in some surreptitious discussions with Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, to find out why his son’s nomination was not moving through the Senate, Politico reported today.
“The senator has a responsibility to the people of South Dakota to see that these posts are filled and did check on the status of the nominee, as he has with other pending presidential nominations,” Sen. Johnson spokesperson Julianne Fisher told Politico. “Of course, Sen. Johnson is proud of Brendan, but first and foremost, he wants the position filled, so we don’t have cases lingering back home.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee has now approved a total of 18 U.S. Attorney nominees. The Senate has confirmed 15 of those nominees. The panel has yet to vote on 12 nominees.
