The Senate Judiciary Committee next week will hold a hearing for two Justice Department nominees, including one who was nominated more than nine months ago.
Michele Leonhart and Eric Holder (DOJ)
The panel will hear testimony on Nov. 17 from acting Drug Enforcement Administration chief Michele Leonhart, who became the presidential nominee for the agency’s top job on Feb. 2., and former U.S. Marshals Service official Stacia Hylton, who was tapped on Sept. 20 to lead that DOJ agency.
Organizations that favor the legalization of marijuana have pushed for the withdrawal or rejection of Leonhart’s nomination, the National Journal reported. They said the acting Administrator, who has lead the agency since November 2007, has targeted medical marijuana growers whose prosecutions are not a priority in the DOJ under Attorney General Eric Holder.
A DEA spokesman directed a request for comment from Main Justice to the White House. A White House spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The groups’ complaints don’t appear to be the source of delays on Leonhart’s nomination. Committee staffers told the National Journal that pro-marijuana advocates’ concerns haven’t really crossed the mind of senators on the panel. The aides said the delays were the result of committee work on judicial nominees, including the nomination hearing for Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.
This story has been updated.
