Biden Says No ‘Obvious Choice’ on Attorney General Nomination to Lead DOJ

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said on Tuesday he hasn’t decided yet who he will nominate as attorney general.
Biden Says No ‘Obvious Choice’ on Attorney General Nomination to Lead DOJ
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Bide takes off his mask to deliver a televised address to the nation, in Wilmington, Del., on Dec. 14, 2020. (Mike Segar/Reuters)
Lorenz Duchamps
12/23/2020
Updated:
12/23/2020

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said on Tuesday he hasn’t decided yet who he will nominate as attorney general should he win the presidency.

The former vice president made the announcement during an event in Wilmington, Delaware, saying there’s no “obvious choice” in his mind who to pick from the attorney general contenders to lead the Department of Justice (DOJ).

“There’s not an obvious choice in my mind,” Biden told a reporter after he asked him about the final selections regarding filling the cabinet and why he’s waiting to name an attorney general.

A federal investigation into the finances of his son, Hunter Biden, is expected to be raised during Senate confirmation hearings for Biden’s yet-to-be-named nominee to head up the DOJ.

On “Fox News Sunday,” Jen Psaki, Biden’s choice for White House press secretary, said Biden “will not be discussing an investigation of his son with any attorney general candidates.”
Then-Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden at the reviewing stand to watch President Barack Obama's Inaugural Parade from in front of the White House in Washington on Jan. 20, 2009. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Then-Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden at the reviewing stand to watch President Barack Obama's Inaugural Parade from in front of the White House in Washington on Jan. 20, 2009. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Biden told reporters Tuesday that the attorney general “is not the president’s lawyer,” and that he will appoint someone who will “enforce the law as the law is written,” and will not be guided by him.

“We’re looking for a team that will instill the greatest confidence in the professionals at DOJ to know once again that there is no politics. There’s no politics,” he added.

He added that he expects to make another cabinet announcement Wednesday and another between Christmas and January.

The former vice president has declared victory in the Nov. 3 election and has been naming people he plans to nominate to his prospective cabinet. President Donald Trump is contesting the election results. The Epoch Times won’t declare a winner of the election until all legal challenges are resolved.

Biden has already filled the top spots for his cabinet, including his nominees to lead the departments of Health and Human Services, State, and Treasury, with the nomination of the attorney general being his most significant personnel decision still to be announced.

Those rumored to be front-runners for the job are Judge Merrick Garland, who has served at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since 1997, and Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.), an attorney and politician from Alabama.

Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 3, 2018. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 3, 2018. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Biden’s latest cabinet pick was the nomination of Miguel Cardona to be his education secretary. Cardona is a former public school teacher and the current education commissioner of Connecticut.
As education commissioner, he earlier this year made Connecticut the first U.S. state to purchase some 141,000 laptops for public school students to facilitate for virtual learning amid the ongoing CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus crisis.

In a statement, Biden said that Cardona is “an experienced and dedicated public school teacher” who will support students and teachers and ensure that every school is “on track to reopen safely.”

“He will help us address systemic inequities, tackle the mental health crisis in our education system, give educators a well-deserved raise, ease the burden of education debt, and secure high-quality, universal pre-K for every three- and four-year-old in the country,” Biden said.

The Associated Press and Mimi Nguyen Ly contributed to this report.
Lorenz Duchamps is a news writer for NTD, The Epoch Times’ sister media, focusing primarily on the United States, world, and entertainment news.
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