Three nominees for top positions in the Justice Department will likely receive Senate confirmation with little trouble.
The Senate is scheduled to vote on the nominations at 5:30 p.m. today, senators’ first day back in Washington after a two-week spring recess. No formal debate has been scheduled on the nominations, according to the office of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), though some senators might speak anyway. Check back with The BLT for more.
The nominees are: Covington & Burling partner Lanny Breuer for assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division; Hogan & Hartson partner Christine Varney for assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division; and Morrison Foerster partner Tony West for assistant attorney general for the Civil Division.
In endorsing their nominations last month, the Senate Judiciary Committee didn’t bother with roll call votes — a sign of the bipartisan support they’ve gotten.
Still awaiting a confirmation vote is Dawn Johnsen, nominee for assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel and a law professor at Indiana University at Bloomington. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, has not said whether he plans to support her nomination, and the nomination could be a hot topic this week for the Republican caucus.
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