Federal Judge to Replace Gonzales

Compromise candidate will be named attorney general

By Peter Fearon, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 17, 2007 2:30 AM CDT

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Federal Judge to Replace Gonzales — Rudy Giuliani, right, is symbolically sworn-in as New York City Mayor by U.S. District Court Judge Michael B. Mukasey, left, during a private ceremony in New York in this Dec. 31, 1993 file photo. Giuliani's wife Donna Hanover, center, stands with their children Andrew, 7, and Caroline, 4; Giuliani's... (Associated Press)

President Bush is expected to announce the appointment of retired New York federal judge Michael B. Mukasey as attorney general, reports the Washington Post. Mukasey, 66, is considered an authority on national security issues and is a law-and-order conservative. He is also seen as someone who could be confirmed without a long battle in the Senate.

"The Justice Department has been really beleaguered over the last few months," said one former White House adviser. "Bringing someone in like Mike Mukasey will be a real shot in the arm." Former Solicitor General Theodore Olson had been a leading candidate but the Senate was spoiling to block his confirmation. (More Alberto Gonzales stories.)

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