In an upcoming biography by McKay Coppins, U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney is quoted as saying, “I don’t know that I can disrespect someone more than [Ohio Republican Sen.] J.D. Vance.”
We can see why, now that Vance plans to put a hold on the appointment of April M. Perry to become the next U.S. attorney based in Chicago — she would be the first woman to hold the position — along with holds on all other appointments to the Department of Justice.
After decades of calling for law and order, undermining law enforcement is a 180-degree switch for Republicans, but they’re doing just that in the hope of making President Joe Biden and the Democrats look bad on the issue in the 2024 election campaign.
Last Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee sent Perry’s nomination to the Senate floor by a vote of 12-9, but under the chamber’s arcane rules, just one senator can block the confirmation, even a senator who is not from Illinois. Vance doesn’t have any beef with Perry’s appointment. He’s just aggrieved at the Justice Department’s investigations of Donald Trump.
Vance is using the same playbook as his GOP colleague from Alabama, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who has put a hold on hundreds of military promotions since January.
The Democrats could rewrite the rules to allow the nominations to go forward, but they are looking at a tough 2024 Senate re-election map and want to keep the power of individual senators in place should they suddenly find themselves in the minority. Of course, if the Republicans win control of the Senate, they could deny Democrats that power anyway.
For their part, Republicans could allow the nominations to go forward whenever the objecting senator is not on the floor. In reality, some other senator would object, because that’s how things work in Washington.
The Senate also could approve the appointments by holding floor votes on each nominee, rather than approving them as a group through unanimous consent. But that is a laborious and time-consuming process, as insider maneuvering would drag everything out and debate would follow — for each nominee — grinding the Senate’s work down to a halt.
The office of U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois has been vacant for six months. The work of the office proceeds, of course, but not as efficiently as it could with no one in the top job.
The options for moving forward have drawbacks. Vance should have the integrity to let Perry’s appointment proceed.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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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