Sen. John Cornyn said Thursday that he would block anyone except Sarah Saldana as the next U.S. attorney for North Texas, setting in motion a showdown with Democrats who have other contenders in mind.
Saldana, an assistant U.S. Attorney who leads the fraud and public corruption division in the Dallas-based Northern District, was picked by Cornyn and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison after they interviewed a string of candidates. Saldana and others were also evaluated by a bipartisan committee of legal experts appointed by the Republican senators, Cornyn said.
“It’s the president’s prerogative to nominate anybody he wants,” Cornyn said. “But it’s the prerogative of the Senate to decide whether those individuals will be confirmed.”
Under Senate rules, senators can block nominees in their home states whom they oppose.
Texas House Democrats, including Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas, have rejected Saldana in favor of Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Terri Moore and Dallas civil lawyer Roger Williams. Other names could be considered, and a spokesman for the chairman of the House Democratic delegation, Lloyd Doggett, said Wednesday that “consultations” are ongoing.
But the senators, Johnson said Wednesday, “are having a hard time accepting that there’s a Democrat in the White House.”
In a conference call with reporters, Cornyn acknowledged that Moore and Williams had been interviewed by the special panel and the Republican senators. Still, he couldn’t support them for the post.
“We thought Sarah Saldana was the best candidate, and that’s why we sent her name to the White House,” he said. “My hope is the White House will choose her and make that appointment. At this point I’m not prepared to support any other individual.”
Cornyn’s comments mark the latest shot in a feud over the selection of
U.S. attorneys and other federal appointments that must be approved by the Senate.
Since Barack Obama is now president, Texas Democrats want to make the nominations without interference from the Republican senators.
But on Wednesday, the senators sent the White House a list of names they would accept for each of four U.S. Attorney slots in Texas. Doggett also released a list of names backed by Texas Democrats. That list did not include a recommendation for the Dallas position.
Doggett and his aides could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.
Johnson did not say why Democrats were now cool to Saldana, a candidate with strong Democratic credentials.
The seasoned prosecutor had a key role in the Dallas City Hall corruption trial, but Johnson said that had no bearing on their decision not to back her. Some local Democrats have complained that the case was politically motivated.
Cornyn warned Democrats against a partisan fight.
“In the end, if the president or our friends on the other side of the aisle insist on making this a partisan process, and do not go through the federal judicial evaluation committee, I will not” submit the paperwork to clear their nominations, he said.
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http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/topstories/stories/100909dnmetusattorney.1f8ebe39e.html>
Hey Senator, there's a liberal black Democratic President now. Tough luck for you!