I spent a lot of the last year writing about the disaster that is the Justice Department, so I think I might be a little biased on this question. From the U.S. attorney firing scandal to the politicization of the civil rights division, it's pretty clear that the Bush years have not been kind to what was once a great, and unbiased vestige of the law.
We've gone through three attorneys general since 2000, and one of them is still having trouble getting a job thanks to his notorious tenure as AG. The next attorney general is going to have a lot to clean up, so this job has never been more important.
Last Thursday were the confirmation hearings for Eric Holder, President Barack Obama's nominee to head the Department of Justice. Prior to the hearings, much had been made about Sen. Arlen's specter's statements that Holder could potentially be another Gonzales -- that is a butt-boy to the president. Despite these acrimonious statements, the hearings were anything but. The minority's questioning of Holder was more or less empty and political.
Holder held up beautifully and people from both sides of the aisle embrace his selection. His supporters ranged from the obvious Democratic supporters of Sen. Patrick Leahy and Sen. Chuck Schumer to former Sen. John Warner (R) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R).
By noon on Friday, the hearings had concluded and Leahy had requested a vote to pass Holder's nomination from Committee to the Senate. That will happen around 9 a.m. tomorrow morning-- the first full day of Obama's presidency. A quick headcount will find that the Senate Judiciary Committee will likely vote to recommend him for full Senate confirmation. By the end of this week, we should have a new man at the helm of the Department of Justice.
And not a moment too soon. Though I didn't know much of Holder before these hearings and the multitude of articles on him leading up to his confirmation, I found his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee excellent. He was calm and levelheaded, apologetic for past mistakes, and wise in speaking of howe he'd learned from them. He didn't strike me as partisan, and neither did his supporters.
In short, Holder has been my favorite appointment of the new presidency. In his testimony, and the testimony of others, he came across as a smart, capable man with a wealth of integrity-- and that's something the Justice Department can't have too much of these days.
-- Kate Klonick
RSS Feed