Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said Friday she probably can’t support two of President Trump’s key nominees because they are too devoted to Trump.
Trump is reportedly leaning toward nominating William Barr as his next attorney general. Barr was confirmed unanimously by the Senate in 1991 to be President Bush’s attorney general, but Hirono told CNN things are different today.
“That’s true,” Hirono said when it was pointed out that Barr was not seen as controversial in 1991. “But on the other hand, these are not normal times.”
William Barr and Heather Nauert are Trump’s top choices for attorney general and UN ambassador, sources say.
Sen. @maziehirono: “I do not know that being loyal to the President is the uppermost qualification. It is for the President, but it isn’t for me.” https://t.co/jMmKwdkdii pic.twitter.com/SHQQtdckqY
— New Day (@NewDay) December 7, 2018
“What’s happening is we have a president who just cares about appointing people who are going to do his bidding, and that is not what we need as an attorney general,” she said.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has already hinted he could support Barr.
Trump has also indicated he’ll nominate State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert to be his new ambassador to the United Nations. Hirono dismissed that choice as one that shows Trump values loyalty over policy experience.
“I do not know that being loyal to the president is the uppermost qualification,” she said. “It is for the president, but it isn’t for me.”
“I think it shows very clearly that the president has great difficulty in finding people, not the people who are going to kowtow to him, but finding people who are actually experienced and qualified.”
