US: Trump’s pick for No. 3 Justice Department post withdraws

President Donald Trump’s pick to serve as the third-ranking official in the US Justice Department, Jessie Liu, withdrew from consideration on Thursday, March 28, after at least one Republican lawmaker objected to her past involvement with a women’s legal group, reported Reuters.

Liu will instead serve as an adviser to Attorney General William Barr and remain in her job as the top federal prosecutor in Washington, spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said. “Jessie will be an integral part of our leadership at the Department,” Barr said in a statement.

Liu served on Trump’s presidential transition team and was unanimously confirmed in 2017 by the Senate to serve as US attorney for the District of Columbia, the largest federal prosecutors’ office in the United States.

Trump said earlier this month he intended to nominate Liu to be associate attorney general – a job that involves overseeing the department’s civil litigation, including antitrust matters, civil rights, and environmental law.

But Republican Senator Mike Lee opposed her nomination due to concerns that she did not oppose abortion, Lee’s spokesman Conn Carroll said. Republicans, who generally oppose a woman’s right to abortion, hold a narrow 12-10 majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and without Lee’s support they would have had a difficult time securing a confirmation vote in the Senate.