New AG Must Go on Hiring Spree
The first order of business for Michael Mukasey if he is confirmed as attorney general will be to fill the large number of vacancies in his office.
Top positions in the department are usually filled in a collaborative process involving the attorney general, the Office of White House Counsel and other White House aides. But Mukasey may have negotiated for more authority, or he may get more say-so simply because of the high number of job openings or the controversy over political influence in the department, Legal Times reports.
Some observers told the legal publication that Mukasey may hire lawyers he knows from the Southern District of New York where he retired as chief judge last year. Another source of talent is the Justice Department itself, where experienced lawyers fill lower-level positions.
“If Mukasey is confirmed, he will have substantial input,” says University of Maryland law professor Michael Greenberger, a former Justice Department lawyer. Mukasey has been brought in there to clean up the Department of Justice. … He has a chance to completely remake the department right now.”
