Liu Withdraws Name from Consideration for DOJ No. 3 Post

U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jessie Liu withdrew her name from consideration for the third highest post at the Department of Justice, following opposition from conservative lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to two news sites.

The National Public Radio (NPR) reported Liu was affiliated with the National Association of Women Lawyers when it opposed the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court and backed abortion rights. NPR added Liu’s friends and former colleagues, however, noted she had actually signed a separate letter with fellow Yale Law School alumni supporting Alito.

Liu was President Trump’s choice for the No. 3 position at DOJ. Liu withdrew her name from consideration late last month. Liu will remain in her current post as the U.S. attorney in D.C., the nation’s largest such office.

Politico added that Attorney General William Barr expressed regret over the development. Barr issued a statement that praised Liu as “one of the finest, most impressive people serving in the Department of Justice. She has been an outstanding United States Attorney and would have made an outstanding Associate Attorney General… Because I need Jessie to play a broader role in the Department, I am appointing her forthwith to be chairwoman of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee.”