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Trump plans to nominate Rosen for deputy attorney general

By Darryl Coote
Jeffery Rosen, deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation, is set to be nominated by President Donald Trump to be the next deputy attorney general. Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Transportation
Jeffery Rosen, deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation, is set to be nominated by President Donald Trump to be the next deputy attorney general. Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Transportation

Feb. 20 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Jeffrey Rosen to be the next deputy attorney general of the Department of Justice, the White House said.

If confirmed, Rosen, who is currently the deputy secretary of the U.S. Transportation Department, would replace Rod Rosenstein.

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U.S. Attorney General William Barr welcomed the news, calling Rosen a distinguished lawyer who has severed at the highest levels in both public and private sectors.

"His years of outstanding legal and management experience make him an excellent choice to succeed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has served the Department of Justice over many years with dedication and distinction," Barr, who was confirmed as the new U.S attorney general last week, said in a statement.

Rosenstein announced his plan to leave the Department of Justice in early January, shortly after Trump announced Barr as his nominee for attorney general.

The Tuesday night announcement follows the president attacking Rosenstein and former FBI Director Andrew McCabe on Twitter on Monday as McCabe said in an episode of 60 Minutes that Rosenstein had once suggested to him that the president could be removed from office through the use of the 25th Amendment.

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"Wow, so many lies by now disgraced acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe," Trump said in the Tweet. "He was fired for lying, and now his story gets even more deranged. He and Rod Rosenstein ... look like they were planning a very illegal act, and got caught."

Rosenstein's 21 months at the Department of Justice were full of drama as he oversaw the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. federal election, which Trump frequently attacked.

Rosenstein is expected to step down from the position by mid-march, the Guardian reported.

According to the White House, Rosen was a senior partner at Kirkland & Ellis where he worked for 30 years. He was also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center and he was chair of the American Bar Association's Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice.

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