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1 [1] (December 4, 2014)

handle is hein.crs/crsmthaaeut0001 and id is 1 raw text is: CRS Insights Attorney General Nominations Since the Reagan Administration Maeve P. Carey, Analyst in Government Organization and Management (mcareydcrs.Ioc.gov, 7-7775) Michael Greene, Information Research Specialist (mreeneacrs.c.gov, 7-9188) -Ieme 4 2014 (IN I019 On November 9, 2014, President Obama announCed his intention to nominate U S. Attorney Lreta E. Lynch to replace Eric H. Holder-jr. as Attorney General (AG). Holder reportedly plans to remain in the position until his successor is confirmed. Lynch's nomination was received in the Senate and referred to the Judiciary Committee on November 13. T presents information concerning the consideration of each Attorney General nomination since 1981, including the date the nomination was received in the Senate, the date(s) the Judiciary Committee held a hearing, the date the committee reported the nomination, the date of final dispositive action by the full Senate, and the total number of days that passed from when the nomination was received until its final disposition. Presidents have nominated a total of 11 individuals, including Lynch, for the OSition of AG since the beginning of the Reagan Administration in 1981. Of the 10 nominees prior to Lynch, 9 were confirmed. The one exception was the nomination of Zoe Baird, which was received by the Senate on January 20, 1993. Baird's nomination was withdrawn by President Clinton after it became apparent her nomination would face opposition because she had hired an undocumented immigrant couple to serve as her family's nanny and driver. After two days of hearings on the nomination on January 19 and 21, 1993- the day before and the day after Clinton's inauguration-Baird asked the President to withdraw her nomination, saying that the controversy had damaged her ability to head the Justice Department. The President withdrew the nomination on January 26. The duration of time between nomination and confirmation for the other nominations, however, suggests that Presidents were awarded deference at the outset of their Administration for AG nominees, as is often the case with Cabinet nominees generally (for more information, see CRS Report ). The nominations that proceeded through the Senate most quickly were William F. Smith (2 days from receipt to confirmation) and John Ashcroft (3 days from receipt to confirmation). Those nominees were the first AGs named by Reagan and George W. Bush, respectively. Thirteen days elapsed from the date of nomination of Eric H. Holder Jr. until his confirmation. One factor that allowed these three nominations to move quickly upon receipt was that the Senate made use of its informal process for consideration of Cabinet and other top-level nominees prior to the swearing in of a new President and his subsequent formal submission of nominees. Janet Reno was also confirmed quickly early in the Clinton Administration (13 days from receipt to confirmation), although due to the withdrawal of the Baird nomination, Reno's was the second AG nomination submitted by President Clinton after the start of his term. The duration of time between receipt of an AG nomination and confirmation is generally longer for nominations received later during a presidential term. The nomination of Richard L. Thornburgh by President Reagan in July of his last year in office was confirmed 17 days after its receipt, and the nomination of Michael B. Mukasey by George W. Bush was received in September of 2007 and confirmed 48 days later. The two nominees whose Senate consideration period was the longest-Edwin Meese III and Alberto R. Gonzales-were both nominated during presidential transitions to a second term in office. (For more information on these inter-term transitions see n.) Both of those nominations were received in the Senate and returned to the President at the end of the Congress under Senate rules, not having been confirmed. In both cases, the Presidents renominated Meese and Gonzales at the beginning of the next Congress, and they were confirmed.