Congrats to the new AG

Congratulations to Michael Mukasey, who was sworn in as the nation’s 81st attorney general by Chief Justice John Roberts today. At the ceremony, President Bush praised former AG Alberto Gonzales and acknowledged that many of the most senior positions at DOJ are vacant. The President promised to announce nominations to fill several of those positions tomorrow.

Last week, when Mukasey was confirmed by the Senate, CFJ issued a press release discussing the new AG’s potential impact on the ongoing battle over judicial nominations. As I noted in the release, Mukasey is in a unique position to effectively argue for the confirmation of the President’s judicial nominees:

"Even the Democrats concede that Mukasey is non-partisan and was one of the nation’s best trial judges during eighteen years of service. When he says that a particular judicial nominee would make an outstanding judge, it will be difficult for Senate Democrats to argue with his assessment.

We’re calling on the new attorney general to make the confirmation of the President’s judicial nominees a top priority. . . . Mukasey has the reputation and moral authority to make a difference on this important issue. He needs to be personally involved in persuading Senate Democrats that each and every nominee deserves, at very least, an up-or-down vote by the full Senate."