President Donald Trump intends to nominate Jeffrey Rosen to succeed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, according to the White House.
Trump nominated Rosenstein to serve as the deputy attorney general on Feb. 1, 2017. Since then, Rosenstein has played a key role in pivotal events: He recommended the firing of FBI Director James Comey, appointed special counsel Robert Mueller, and has overseen a broad investigation into leaks of classified information.
Rosen currently serves as the deputy secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Prior to that, he supervised more than 400 attorneys as the general counsel at the DOT, and served as general counsel and senior policy adviser at the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Rosenstein is expected to step down by mid-March, a Justice Department official said on Feb. 19. The department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Rosen‘s nomination must be confirmed by the Senate.
The nomination for Rosenstein’s replacement comes days after former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe again accused Rosenstein of offering to wear a wire to record Trump. Rosenstein denied the allegation.
Rosen was nominated to be a federal judge by Republican President George W. Bush in 2008 but didn’t get a confirmation vote in the Senate, which was under Democratic control at the time. He was rated “well qualified” by the nonpartisan American Bar Association.
Rosen has supported Republican candidates in past elections, although he has not donated money to Trump, federal records show.
He contributed $7,545 to 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and $100 in April 2015 to Marco Rubio, one of Trump’s rivals for the Republican nomination in the 2016 campaign.
Rosen was a key figure in efforts to rewrite fuel efficiency regulations and set drone policy.
Schools Shut, Flights Canceled as Storm Sweeps U.S. Midwest, East Coast
A winter storm swept across much of the U.S. Midwest and East Coast on Wednesday, Feb. 20, hampering air travel and prompting officials to close federal offices in Washington and several large public school systems.
The National Weather Service warned the storm could make travel very difficult, with snow, sleet and freezing rain potentially causing downed branches and power outages.
The storm forced the closing of federal agencies in Washington as well as schools in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington.
FlightAware.com shows Reagan National Airport leading the country in cancellations Wednesday morning, with 37 percent of departures and 33 percent of arrivals canceled.
Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is seeing about 32 percent of departures and 31 percent of arrivals canceled. Dulles International Airport is seeing about 26 percent of departures and 23 percent of arrivals canceled.
A moist, warmer air mass is bringing heavy rain, possibly through the end of the week, from the Ohio Valley into the Southeast. Flood or flash flood watches will extend from northern Alabama and Mississippi northward to Ohio.
Report: Alarming Rate of Unnecessary Opioid Prescriptions
An incredibly addictive and potentially deadly drug—unnecessarily prescribed to an “alarming” number of patients.That’s what a just-released report in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals.
The study found thousands of patients received a highly potent form of the opioid fentanyl—when they shouldn’t have.
Researchers said FDA and opioid manufacturers failed to closely monitor the use of the restricted fentanyl—as part of a federal program, aimed at reducing abuse and misuse of the drug. It’s designed for cancer patients already taking opioids for breakthrough pain.
The FDA has not commented on the report.
