President Trump’s pick to serve as the Department of Justice’s third in command, Jesse Liu, withdrew her name from consideration on Thursday evening amid backlash from conservative lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to NPR.
Liu currently leads more than 300 prosecutors as the U.S. attorney in Washington D.C. As an Asian American woman, she would have added a measure of diversity to the Justice Department’s senior ranks as well as experience serving in the Department of Justice as deputy chief of staff in the National Security Division, counsel to the Deputy Attorney General, and Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division, according to The Washington Post.
NPR’s sources indicate that some Republicans, including Utah Senator Mike Lee, did not believe Liu’s views on issues such as abortion aligned closely enough with the GOP.
Lee reported got into what has been described by two NPR sources as a “shouting match” with the attorney general about Liu’s nomination. Barr has refused to comment, but Lee did not deny the heated exchange, according to Law & Crime.
Liu will remain in her post as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Barr also announced that she will lead the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of United States Attorneys, according to a Justice Department press release.
“Today, I am pleased to announce that I am appointing Jessie Liu as chairwoman of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of United States Attorneys (AGAC). Jessie Liu, an outstanding attorney with broad experience, is widely-respected, within the Department,” Barr said.
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