WASHINGTON — More twists developed Friday in the fight to confirm April Perry to be the next U.S. attorney in Chicago, as it appears Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio is not dealing in good faith, given his shifting explanations for denying her a vote.
Vance delivered misleading comments from the Senate floor on Wednesday when he said “I’m not the only person” holding up confirmation votes on Perry and one other U.S. attorney nominee. Turns out, as of Friday, Vance is the only senator objecting to a vote on Perry.
Vance has been blocking the confirmation of Perry and three other U.S. attorney nominees to protest the Justice Department prosecuting former President Donald Trump, saying it was nothing personal.
But on Friday, for the first time, he raised a specific complaint about Perry, discussing how she had worked for Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx while Foxx was accused of mishandling the case against actor Jussie Smollett.
The story so far: Vance pushes for separate votes
On Wednesday, Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill. went to the Senate floor for the second time to try to clear a path to confirm four U.S. attorneys: Perry, in the U.S. Northern District of Illinois; Todd Gee, in the Southern District of Mississippi; Tara K. McGrath, in the Southern District of California; and Rebecca Lutzko, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Durbin wanted to use a time-saving tool called “unanimous consent,” which does not require a recorded roll call.
Every senator has the power to put a hold on a nominee by objecting to using the unanimous consent procedure for confirmation.
Vance, a freshman known as the author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” said in exchange for lifting his hold, he wanted separate votes for the four. Though the Senate usually does not require roll calls to confirm U.S. attorneys, Durbin made the concession.
Vance then revealed, “I’m not the only person that’s holding some of these nominations.” He said he would release his hold for Gee and McGrath - but “I can’t release the hold” for the others.
What happened Friday: Vance cites Smollett case
That Wednesday deal set the stage for Friday’s votes to confirm McGrath and Gee on separate roll calls. Perry and Lutzko remained in limbo.
Later in the day, Durbin went to the Senate floor to try for the third time.
Durbin noted that the Senate, before the Biden administration, last required a roll call vote for a U.S. attorney in 1975. During the Trump years, the Senate Democrats allowed all 85 of Trump’s U.S. attorney nominees to be confirmed on unanimous consent.
Then there was this surprise over the supposed hold from another senator. Durbin said, “It turns out there is no one else. He’s the only objector.”
Vance then spoke, offering a new reason to block Perry.
Perry’s nomination is “troublesome” Vance said, because she “served as chief ethics officer in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office during the Jussie Smollett hate crime hoax.” Perry resigned from Foxx’s office after Foxx declined to take her advice about the handling of the staged hate crime.
The Foxx-Smollett scandal never came up during Perry’s confirmation hearing, and Durbin called implicating Perry in the Smollett case “unfair.”
Vance chastised Durbin for being “hell-bent” on coming to the Senate floor seeking the confirmation vote.
To be continued ...
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
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
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
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
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
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
