President Obama will announce his nominee to replace outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder after November’s midterms, according to a White House official.
The White House official told the Washington Examiner that Senate Democrats wanted Obama to make the selection following the 2014 elections.
That timeline means that the White House could attempt to push through the attorney general pick in a lame-duck Congress.
Republicans immediately pounced on the decision, accusing the president of kowtowing to the demands of vulnerable Democrats. However, GOP lawmakers would prefer a nomination battle in 2015, given that conservatives could control the upper chamber.
Holder, one of the most influential voices in the Obama Cabinet, will not leave the post until his successor is confirmed. Early frontrunners for the job include Labor Secretary Thomas Perez and Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr.
The Associated Press first reported the White House’s decision to delay the nomination.
The White House made a similar calculation when pushing back Obama’s expected executive order on immigration reform, saying they didn’t want the issue to get mired in election-year politics.
In turn, immigration advocacy groups accused Obama of putting politics ahead of his principles and argued that Democrats should embrace an aggressive plan to help millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.
The presidential decisions portend a frenzy of political activity once lawmakers return to Washington in November.
White House officials say Obama hasn’t yet chosen his pick to replace Holder.
This story was first published at noon and has been updated.
