Jeffrey Rosen officially sworn in as deputy attorney general

Jeffrey Rosen was officially sworn in as deputy attorney general Wednesday, replacing Rod Rosenstein as the Justice Departments second-highest official.

Rosen, a former deputy secretary of Transportation who also worked in the Justice Department during the George W. Bush administration and practiced law in the private sector, was nominated in March and confirmed by the Senate last week in a 52-45 vote.

The swearing in will put Rosen at the center of an ongoing feud between the Justice Department and House Democrats seeking documents and testimony from current and former administration officials as part of their sprawling oversight probes.

{mosads}“Jeffrey Rosen is a distinguished lawyer who has served at the highest levels of government and the private sector,” Attorney General William Barr said in a press release. “His years of outstanding legal and management experience will make him an excellent Deputy Attorney General.”

Deputy attorney general has traditionally been a low-profile job. However, it was thrust into the spotlight after former Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from overseeing the Justice Department’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, leading Rosenstein to oversee special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and launching him into a contentious battle between the White House and House Democrats.

Rosen’s ascension to the Justice Department’s No. 2 slot comes as Democrats demand Mueller’s full unredacted report and underlying evidence from the Justice Department and call on the agency’s watchdog to open a litany of investigations into Barr. 

Senate Democrats raised concerns during his confirmation hearing about his experience before he was sworn into the tumultuous posting. 

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said she couldn’t support Rosen because he would be “learning on the job” and has a “history of partisanship that risks undermining the independence that we have so badly needed.”

Rosen sought to allay such concerns about any partisan leanings, telling senators during his confirmation hearing that “if the appropriate answer is to say no to somebody, then I will say no.”