President Donald Trump will nominate former Attorney General William Barr to replace Jeff Sessions at the Department of Justice, he announced Friday morning on the White House South Lawn.
“He was my first choice from day one … respected by Republicans and respected by Democrats. He will be nominated for the United States Attorney General and hopefully that process will go very quickly. And I think it will go very quickly,” Trump said.
Barr served as attorney general under former President George H.W. Bush from 1991 to 1993. The former attorney general will seek to helm the same DOJ he did more than 25 years ago. Sessions was ousted by Trump nearly a month ago and replaced temporarily by acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker.
We are pleased to announce that Matthew G. Whitaker, Chief of Staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the Department of Justice, will become our new Acting Attorney General of the United States. He will serve our Country well….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2018
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions attends a meeting with US President Donald Trump with state and local officials on school safety in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on February 22, 2018 in Washington, DC. / AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN
Barr is a longtime figure in conservative Washington circles and has voiced some opinions on matters of political interest.
“I do think that there are things that should be investigated that haven’t been investigated,” he told The Washington Post in 2017 about former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation.
“As the former AG for George H.W. Bush and one of the most highly respected lawyers and legal minds in the Country, he will be a great addition to our team,” Trump tweeted Friday. “I look forward to having him join our very successful Administration!”
I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating The Honorable William P. Barr for the position of Attorney General of the United States. As the former AG for George H.W. Bush….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 7, 2018
….and one of the most highly respected lawyers and legal minds in the Country, he will be a great addition to our team. I look forward to having him join our very successful Administration!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 7, 2018
Vince Coglianese contributed reporting.
