Patrick Leahy: “with only a few legislative days left to us before the Christmas holidays and the end of this session, we continue…”

“with only a few legislative days left to us before the Christmas holidays and the end of this session, we continue seeking to make progress in filling the many U.S. attorney vacancies across our Nation and the high-level vacancies at the Justice Department. Today, the Senate will confirm three more nominations for U.S. attorneys, including the nominations of Gregory A. Brower to the District of Nevada, Diane J. Humetewa to the District of Arizona, and Edmund A. Booth, Jr. to the Southern District of Georgia. Two of the three nominations--Ms. Humetewa and Mr. Brower--are replacements for two of the outstanding U.S. attorneys who were fired almost a year ago as part of the ill-advised, partisan plan to replace well-performing U.S. attorneys. I thank the home State Senators--Senators Reid, Ensign, McCain, Kyl, Chambliss, and Isakson--for their consideration of these nominations. We also are proceeding to fill one of the many high-level vacancies at the Department of Justice by confirming the nomination of Ronald Jay Tenpas to be Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division at the Justice Department. I thank Senator Whitehouse for chairing his hearing.”