WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that he will vote in favor of Rod Rosenstein’s nomination to be U.S. Deputy Attorney General after the nominee pledged to be an independent voice in the Justice Department. Durbin stressed that, as Deputy Attorney General, Rosenstein must play a critical role in “reining in the Attorney General’s worst instincts on immigration,” including by mitigating Sessions’ threat to withhold federal funding from law enforcement in cities across the country, and standing up for smart policing strategies that uphold civil rights and improve community-police relations.
“The Attorney General has already begun making dramatic changes at the Justice Department, including on critical issues like criminal justice, civil rights, immigration, and funding for crime prevention,” said Durbin. “I hope Mr. Rosenstein will approach these issues with the professionalism and integrity that earned him bipartisan praise as U.S. Attorney in Maryland. And I hope he will be willing to speak truth to power, and to stand up to the President and the Attorney General if necessary. I will support Mr. Rosenstein’s nomination. I hope we can work together constructively on the important matters facing the Department of Justice.”
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If confirmed, Rosenstein would also oversee any Justice Department investigations into the Trump Administration’s Russian connections, after Attorney General Sessions recused himself from the matter, and be responsible for the Department’s efforts on criminal justice and police reform.
