Taylor Withdraws Nomination

Jeffrey Taylor has withdrawn his nomination from the Senate to be confirmed as the District’s U.S. attorney, but he will continue to head the office at the request of the attorney general, he said.

Taylor replaced Ken Wainstein, now the assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, as interim U.S. attorney in September 2006. At the time of his appointment, Taylor was counselor to then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

President George W. Bush sent Taylor's nomination to the Senate in February 2007, but it ran aground in the Judiciary Committee. After his interim appointment expired in October 2007, active judges on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia unanimously voted to extend Taylor’s stay.

Here's an e-mailed statement from Taylor:

For nearly two years, I have had the distinct privilege to serve as the interim Unites States Attorney for the District of Columbia. At my request, the President has withdrawn my nomination to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. My nomination has been pending in the United States Senate since February 27, 2007, and it does not appear that the Senate will vote on my nomination. This action preserves my status as a career Assistant United States Attorney, a position in which I have been honored to serve since 1995. At the request of the Attorney General, I will continue to serve as the interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, and I look forward to continuing to lead the outstanding men and women of that office.