A top Transportation Department official who also served in the George W. Bush administration is a top contender to replace Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein once he steps aside, CNN reported.
Jeffrey Rosen, the deputy Transportation Department secretary, is attorney general nominee William Barr’s top pick, multiple sources familiar with the talks told CNN. Rosen was confirmed by the Senate in 2017 and previously served as an attorney for the Transportation Department and in the Office of Budget and Management under Bush.
Rosenstein had been overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe since ex-Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself. Once Sessions resigned and Matt Whitaker was installed as acting attorney general, Whitaker has overseen the probe. That responsibility will fall to Barr after his likely confirmation this week.
According to CNN’s sources, Barr has not made any decisions yet about what he will do with Mueller’s report once the probe is finished, but has told lawmakers that he is in “favor of as much transparency as there as can be, consistent with the rules and the law,” not quite revealing whether he would give Congress the full report.