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The top three candidates for the post are Sen. Doug Jones, Judge Merrick Garland and Sally Yates, according to people familiar with the matter, after Jeh Johnson informed his allies on Tuesday night that he would not be in the Biden administration.
Jones, the Alabama senator who lost his race in November, is considered the main candidate for the Justice Department’s leadership, people familiar with the matter say, especially given his long-standing friendship with Biden and its strong civil rights record. It also fits into a pattern that is developing among several key Cabinet candidates: Biden is looking to people he has strong relationships with, are seen as competent, and might face an easier path to confirmation.
“All signs point to Doug Jones,” someone close to Biden’s transition told CNN, but noted that Biden had not informed candidates of his final decision.
Garland, whose Supreme Court nomination was blocked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in the last year of the Obama administration, has also been under consideration for weeks. Some people familiar with the process say his candidacy has grown more serious over the past week and that there is still an option. Yet her appointment also faces more challenges than Jones, including a more complicated confirmation battle, the vacancy she would create in the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit and questions from advocacy groups. civil rights.
Yates, a former deputy attorney general, is also expected to face more difficult confirmation than Jones. As a 30-year career Justice official, the question remains as to whether she is best placed to lead the department in the post-Trump era. During her tenure as Deputy Attorney General, she stood on the sidelines while then FBI Director James Comey, who reported directly to her, repeatedly violated Department of Justice policy. Justice in dealing with Hillary Clinton’s email investigation.
CNN previously reported that Lisa Monaco, a former homeland security adviser to the Obama White House who worked closely with Biden on his search for vice president, is also under consideration for the post of attorney general. Deval Patrick, former governor of Massachusetts and former head of civil rights at the Department of Justice, was also under consideration.
A Biden transition official said a decision has yet to be made and an official announcement is not expected this week.
Johnson, who was under consideration for several potential positions, is no longer in contention for a Cabinet post, according to people familiar with the matter.
Johnson had been vying for the post of defense secretary and was one of many sought-after candidates for the post of attorney general. He preferred the Pentagon to any other position and when retired Army General Lloyd Austin was selected for the post, Johnson made it clear he would not be joining Biden’s team.
Johnson was Homeland Security Secretary in the Obama administration, but an ally said he didn’t have a particularly strong relationship with Biden.
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