In the hours after President Donald Trump announced that Matthew Whitaker would temporarily replace his boss, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, political observers began speculating about who has both sufficient loyalty to the President and the bipartisan bona fides necessary to get nominated and confirmed to the post.
Politico curated a list of possibilities, perhaps the most well-known of which are Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
Kobach, who just got trounced in his bid for Kansas governor, has notably refused to comment one way or the other, though his campaign manager told Politico that it’s “definitely a possibility.”
Giuliani is his own biggest advocate for the position, saying back in 2016 that “nobody knows the Justice Department” better than he does.
Graham, despite his denials that he has Cabinet-level ambitions, is often cited as a rare candidate who might actually pull off Senate confirmation in the polarized climate.
Read Politico’s full list here.
