U.S. Attorney candidate Daniel Rosen’s confirmation held up in Senate

WASHINGTON - Attorney Daniel Rosen sailed through a relatively smooth process to become Minnesota’s next U.S. Attorney, but the final steps of his confirmation could be held up indefinitely in the U.S. Senate by opposition from top Democrats.

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have blocked Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Senate Judiciary Committee chair, in attempts to unanimously confirm Rosen and nine other U.S. attorney nominees.

Once a relatively quick, bipartisan process, Senate Democrats point to what they view as precedent set by Vice President JD Vance as the basis for their ongoing objection. Two years ago, Vance, then a U.S. senator, held up confirmations on some of former President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice nominees for months in response to the indictments of President Trump.

“We can’t have one set of rules when we have a Republican president and another set of rules when there’s Democrats,” Durbin said last week, explaining his move to Republican colleagues.

Trump nominated Rosen, a longtime Minneapolis commercial litigator, to be the state’s next top federal prosecutor in May, after Minnesota’s four Republicans in Congress recommended Rosen and two others for consideration.

Minnesota DFL Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith also supported Rosen, who advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee this summer. The pushback from top Democratic leaders puts Klobuchar in a tricky political position since she is the No. 3 Democrat in the Senate, after Schumer and Durbin.

Asked to comment on Rosen’s hold up, Klobuchar, reiterated that she and Smith both supported him. “I expect he will be confirmed in the near future,” Klobuchar said in a statement.

“We urge our colleagues in the Senate to stop playing political games with Minnesotans’ safety and confirm Mr. Rosen’s nomination,” Minnesota GOP Reps. Tom Emmer, Pete Stauber, Michelle Fischbach and Brad Finstad said in a joint statement to the Minnesota Star Tribune.

In a speech on the Senate floor last week, Grassley said the nominees are not controversial, adding that Rosen’s confirmation was critical following the Annunciation Catholic Church shooting.

“This horrific crime shocked our nation, and the full force of our government should be mobilized in response,” Grassley said. “But what are the Democrats doing instead? They’re blocking the confirmation of Mr. Rosen to be the chief federal law enforcement officer in Minnesota, not because of any objection to his qualifications, but as an act of pure partisanship.”

Grassley attempted again to confirm Rosen and the others Monday but was blocked by Schumer. The minority leader also vowed to put holds on Trump’s DOJ nominees in response to the government of Qatar offering the president a $400 million private jet as a gift.

Negotiations on the impasse are ongoing, and it’s unclear how long the hold on Rosen and the other nominees will last. Each nominee may have to be voted on individually, a process that could take months.

A Minnesota native and Navy veteran, Rosen has practiced commercial litigation at both the state and federal level and was the partner-in-charge over Miami-based Kluger, Kaplan, Silverman, Katzen & Levine when the firm opened an office in Minneapolis in 2017.

If confirmed, Rosen would replace acting Minnesota U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson, who was elevated to the role in June. Thompson replaced acting U.S. Attorney Lisa Kirkpatrick, who assumed that role after former U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger left office before Trump’s inauguration.

Rosen would lead a team of about 100 attorneys and staffers and oversee high-profile cases related to gangs, immigration and fraud.