President Trump has nominated a "brilliant man" to replace Jeff Sessions as attorney general, the president said outside the White House Friday. He has tapped William Barr, former attorney general for the late President George H. W. Bush, for the position.
BREAKING; “I think he will serve with great distinction.” President Trump announces William Barr as new attorney general pic.twitter.com/mKzYDZgNj9
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) December 7, 2018
Trump said he "did not know" Barr until recently, but found him to be respected by lawmakers from both partIes. He predicted the process will go "very quickly."
However, Democrats have hinted that they will make the nomination process a nightmare for Barr, considering his past criticisms about special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. He has also reportedly suggested that Hillary Clinton's role in the Uranium One scandal was more worthy of investigation than Russian collusion.
The Mueller probe has been an Achilles heel for the office of attorney general the past couple of years. When Jeff Sessions felt pressured to recuse himself from the investigation because Democrats didn't like an answer he gave during a congressional hearing, Trump never let him forget it, calling him "weak" and "beleaguered."
Trump, who has dismissed the Mueller investigation as a "witch hunt," tweeted the following announcement after officially nominating Barr.
We will be doing a major Counter Report to the Mueller Report. This should never again be allowed to happen to a future President of the United States!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 7, 2018