As President Trump considered candidates for attorney general, advisers including Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein urged him to choose William Barr, a conservative with a broad view of presidential power and deep experience in the legal and corporate worlds, the Wall Street Journal reports. Barr was hesitant to take the job, steering the White House to other candidates, including former Judge J. Michael Luttig, and telling friends he would do it only if he could pick his own deputy. He agreed after lawyers in Trump’s orbit played to his sense of duty. Barr’s selection surprised many at the Justice Department, given the president’s regular attacks on the department, where Barr built a reputation for effective management.
In his 1991-1993 stint as attorney general, Barr took a hard-line approach to immigration, pushed tough-on-crime policies and supported a sweeping view of executive power, positions that align with Trump’s. As attorney general, Barr supervised Robert Mueller, then head of the department’s criminal division. Now Mueller is the special counsel leading an inquiry into Russian electoral interference and would once again be overseen by Barr. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) says she wants to ensure that Barr won’t hinder Mueller’s probe and would keep the Justice Department independent. “If you are a career prosecutor doing your job, you have everything to be elated about,” said Ira Raphaelson, who was counsel to Barr while he was attorney general. “If you are a political prosecutor wearing the mantle of career prosecutor, you should be worried. This is an attorney general who can see through that.”