Democrats Continue to Oppose, Delay and Obstruct Non-Controversial, Qualified Nominees

He has the support of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and was an Obama appointee.  He is the longest serving U.S. Attorney in the nation.  Yet, Rod J. Rosenstein has waited almost three months to finally get a chance to be confirmed as Deputy U.S. Attorney General, the number 2 position in the Department of Justice.  Cloture had to be invoked as six Democrats opposed him even getting an up or down vote!   

While the delay in confirming Rosenstein for the number 2 position at DOJ is inexcusable, the treatment of the nominee for the number 3 position (Associate Attorney General), Rachel Brand, is even worse.  As Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley stated:

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he wasn’t sure why the nomination of Brand became a partisan issue. Brand’s nomination cleared through the judiciary committee on an 11-9 vote among party lines. 

“It’s a little more controversial than I thought it would be,” Grassley said Thursday. “She’s a pretty low-key person. ... I think she’ll get some Democrat votes on the floor of the Senate. I can’t give you a reason why it’s become somewhat partisan, because she’s well qualified.”

Chairman Grassley is understating the case.  Brand, like Rosenstein, should be non-controversial as she is extremely qualified and even an Obama appointee.   A few details from her bio as a Board Member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board from August 2012 to February 2017:

Rachel Brand has served as a Member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board since 2012. Her prior government experience includes serving as the Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy at the U.S. Department of Justice after being confirmed by the Senate and appointed by President George W. Bush. In that capacity, Ms. Brand served as chief policy adviser to the Attorney General, handling a broad range of national security, law enforcement, and civil justice issues. She also oversaw the development of all regulations promulgated by the Department of Justice and managed the Department's role in selecting federal judges, including running the confirmation hearing preparation for Chief Justice John G. Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito. Earlier, Ms. Brand served as Associate Counsel to President George W. Bush at the White House. She was a law clerk to Justice Anthony Kennedy of the Supreme Court of the United States and to Justice Charles Fried of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.

Rosenstein was finally confirmed this evening, and the Democrats should stop their delay tactics and confirm Brand soon also.  It is time for Democrats to stop obstructing such qualified nominees.