Trump Proposes Jeffrey Rosen to Replace Rod Rosenstein as Deputy Attorney General

February 20, 2019, 03:13 GMT

By Associated press

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged Jeffrey Rosen, a long-time litigator and assistant secretary of transportation, to replace Rod Rosenstein as Deputy Attorney General.

In his current role, Rosen, 60, is the Chief of Operations for the Ministry of Transportation and is responsible for implementing the department's technology and safety priorities. He joined DOT in 2017 after being General Counsel from 2003 to 2006.

From 2006 to 2009, Rosen was Senior Legal Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor in the White House Office of Management and Budget. He has also worked as Adjunct Professor at the Law Center of Georgetown University.

Rosen has held a variety of positions, including senior partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, the same firm as the new Attorney General, William Barr. Rosen spent nearly 30 years with Kirkland & Ellis in various leadership roles, including co-chairing the firm's Washington, DC office, he told senators at his March 2017 confirmation hearing.

The current Deputy Attorney General, Rosenstein, is expected to step down in mid-March.

His departure was expected since Mr. Barr's appointment as Attorney General last week. Rosenstein had been a deputy for almost two years, and it is common for new attorneys general to have their own members. Barr told his relatives that he wanted his own number 2 as part of his duties as Attorney General.

Rosenstein began overseeing the investigation of special advocate Robert Mueller after the Attorney General of the time, Jeff Sessions, withdrew from the investigation. Barr now has control of the Mueller investigation, which investigates Russia's interference in the 2016 elections and contacts with the Trump campaign.

Rosen is a married Virginia resident and mother of three adult children. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School.