USA TODAY
As President-elect Donald Trump organizes his administration, a key decision will be who to name as attorney general to run a Justice Department he and his allies say was hopelessly politicized by the Biden administration.
Trump’s relationship with the department has been tumultuous.
During his first term, Trump tried to block the department’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election he won. He demanded probes of baseless claims of election fraud in the 2020 race he lost. And Trump faced prosecution in two federal cases – for alleged election interference and mishandling classified documents – after leaving office.
Now, attorney general is seen as Trump’s most consequential appointment.
“He needs to appoint someone with a very skeptical eye − someone the rank and file is going to flat-out fear,” said Mark Corallo, a former Justice Department spokesman who served as communications advisor to Trump’s legal team during special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
Trump is expected to choose from a pool of loyal candidates who will help carry out potentially contentious policies such as mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
“Throughout the campaign, Trump has made clear that he will appoint Trump loyalists to his administration, and we can expect no less with respect to the head of the Justice Department,” said Wayne Unger, assistant law professor at Quinnipiac University.
“At bottom, whoever Trump appoints is likely to erode the traditional separation and independence of the Justice Department from White House politics,” Unger said. “Trump has expressed time and time again that he’ll place a heavy hand on the scales of justice as President.”
Here is a sample of candidates – from among lawmakers, members of his first administration and appointees – who are being considered, according to news reports and people working on the transition:
Sen. Mike Lee
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, is one of the names mentioned most prominently. Lee worked closely enough with the White House that Trump mistakenly called him during the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, when trying to reach another senator.
Lee exchanged emails with Trump’s White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, conferring over how to challenge the 2020 election results. In texts obtained by CNN, Lee voiced “unequivocal support for you to exhaust every legal and constitutional remedy at your disposal,” although the senator ultimately voted to certify the election.
Lee clerked for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. Lee has been in the Senate 14 years and serves on the Judiciary Committee.
John Ratcliffe
John Ratfcliffe, Trump’s former Director of National Intelligence and a former GOP House member from Texas, is another prominent name under discussion.
Ratcliffe defended Trump from his seats on the Judiciary and Intelligence committees during special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of the 2016 election.
Trump later chose him to lead the intelligence community as what Ratcliffe called “America’s top spy.” Trump gave him a National Security Medal.
Trump conferred with Clark about aggressively challenging 2020 election results and Clark drafted a letter urging states to investigate claims that other Justice Department and Republican election officials had already refuted. When Trump proposed to elevate Clark to attorney general, top department and White House lawyers threatened to resign together because he had never been a criminal lawyer.
“You’re an environmental lawyer,” Acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue told Clark during an Oval Office showdown on Jan. 3, 2021. “How about you go back to your office, and we’ll call you when there’s an oil spill.”
Clark is a co-defendant with Trump in a Georgia election racketeering case. The D.C. Bar Association is considering whether to disbar him.
