As if it’s not enough to have dysfunction in the leaderless U.S. House, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, is trying to spread the dysfunction to Illinois.
Taking advantage of labyrinthine Senate rules, Vance is persisting in his hold on the appointment of April M. Perry to be the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, a job that is based in Chicago.
Why? Well, Vance has changed his reason for doing so since he started using “procedural holds” in June, when he blocked all appointments to the Justice Department.
At first, Vance said he was going after the entire Justice Department because “Donald Trump is merely the latest victim of a Department of Justice that cares more about politics than law enforcement.” Now he says he is not happy about Perry’s ties to Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, although earlier he said he had no objections to her.
He’d have a tough time trying to sell that kind of back-and-forth reasoning before a judge in any municipal court.
In effect, Vance is helping the kinds of dangerous criminals the Justice Department chases. The professionals staffing the U.S. attorney’s office here will move forward on their cases. But it’s a problem to have the top leadership position vacant. It cramps the ability to plan long-range investigations or open new areas of investigations that will affect the office months and years out. Uncertainty will hover over supervisors and deputies to supervisors. A vacuum at the top can lead to inertia. No one wants to cramp the ability of the new leader, when that person finally is approved, to put her stamp on the office.
At a time when crime is of growing concern, it makes no sense to leave unfilled the post of the leading federal crime fighter in Chicago. Evidently, Vance doesn’t care.
Vance puts the Senate Democrats in a tough spot. With their slim majority, they could rewrite the rules to allow the nominations to go forward, but that might come back to haunt them if they find themselves in the minority after future elections.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wants unanimous Senate consent for the nominations of Perry and Rebecca Lutzko in Ohio, whom Vance is also blocking. Both nominees have gone through extensive vetting, Durbin says.
A Durbin spokeswoman on Thursday said Durbin will continue to come to the Senate floor and press for the confirmation of the two U.S. attorneys.
Durbin is right to plug away until Perry’s nomination succeeds. Vance should do what’s right and get out of the way.
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April Perry has instead been nominated to the federal bench. But it’s beyond disgraceful that Vance, a Trump acolyte, used the Senate’s complex rules to block Perry from becoming the first woman in the top federal prosecutor’s job for the Northern District of Illinois.
The White House on Wednesday will officially announce Biden’s intention to nominate April Perry to be a U.S. District Court judge. For months, the effort to confirm Perry as Chicago’s new U.S. Attorney was stalled by Sen. J.D. Vance, a Republican from Ohio.
President Joe Biden nominated Perry in June 2023 to replace former U.S. Attorney John Lausch. But she has since waited eight months to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, longer than the last eight men to hold the position — with no end in sight.
In effect, Ohio’s Sen. Vance, by blocking the appointment of April Perry to be U.S. attorney based in Chicago, is helping the kinds of dangerous criminals the Justice Department chases.
Offering shifting stories, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio is blocking the confirmation of April Perry and Rebecca Lutzko, tapped to be the U.S. attorneys in Chicago and Cleveland, respectively.
By Lynn Sweet
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
It appears Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, isn’t dealing in good faith, given shifting explanations for denying April Perry a vote to be Chicago’s next U.S. attorney, Lynn Sweet writes.
By Lynn Sweet
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
The senator or senators who are blocking a confirmation vote for April Perry aren’t known. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, said he’d lift his hold on Perry if she got an up-or-down vote.
By Lynn Sweet
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
Sens. Dick Durbin and Chuck Schumer sharply criticized both Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, who has been preventing a vote on April Perry and three other U.S. attorney nominees, and Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who has been holding up military promotions.
By Lynn Sweet
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Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is scorching Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, the “Hillbilly Elegy” author, and Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. for their holds on military and Justice Department nominees.
By Lynn Sweet
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance plans to block the vote on Perry’s nomination to be U.S. attorney based in Chicago, as well as holds on other Justice Department appointments, because he’s angry about investigations into Donald Trump.
Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, best known as the author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” said he will put all Department of Justice nominees on hold because of his objection to the federal prosecution of former President Donald Trump.
Many former federal prosecutors who served in that office, including me, believe it was high time, if not long overdue, for a woman or minority to be nominated for the top post in the Northern District of Illinois, a former federal prosecutor writes.
By Letters to the Editor
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Biden’s nomination of Perry reflects an effort to diversify the ranks of the nation’s federal judges and prosecutors.
If either Sergio Acosta or April Perry are picked to be the next U.S. attorney in Chicago, it will be the first time a non-white male has held the job.
By Lynn Sweet
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