Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is letting the nomination of Rod Rosenstein as Deputy U.S. Attorney General advance after refusing to schedule a vote because he had not received sufficient information on the ongoing Russia probe, Politico reports. The committee will take up the nomination Monday. Grassley had complained the administration was stonewalling his requests for more information and said he would not schedule a vote for Rosenstein until he was briefed by the FBI. Grassley and the committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, were briefed by FBI Director James Comey last week. The administration has either provided — or agreed to hand over — key documents related to the Russia probe to the committee.
The panel will probably vote on Rosenstein’s nomination the week of April 3. Some Democrats have vowed to slow down Rosenstein’s confirmation unless he promised to appoint a special prosecutor to oversee the federal investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 campaign and potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow. After Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from probes related to the Trump campaign, Rosenstein would take over the Russia investigation if he is confirmed.