18 (UPI) -- Eric Holder Jr., formerly the No. 2 lawyer in the Justice Department under President Bill Clinton, has been selected for U.S. Attorney General, reports said.
Democratic sources told the Washington Post Tuesday Holder, a close confidant of President-elect Barack Obama, is Obama's top choice. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he would be the first African-American Attorney General of the United States.
National Public Radio said Holder was expected to be offered the top job but there has been no formal word from the Obama transition office that he will be nominated.
Holder, 57, has been a judge and a top federal prosecutor in Washington as a U.S. attorney and deputy attorney general, the Post said. Most recently he has been a partner in the law firm of Covington and Burling, and played an active role as an adviser in the Obama presidential campaign.
"I think that his appointment is one that both the law enforcement and the civil rights community can exhale, and says that someone that is fair and open will take the top law enforcement seat in Washington," activist and National Action Network President the Rev. Al Sharpton said in a statement.
Holder served on Obama's vice presidential vetting committee, which selected Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., before the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Lieberman likely to keep chairmanship
WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, Ind-Conn., Tuesday avoided loss of his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
The Hill reports Senate Democrats voted 42-13 against severely punishing Lieberman for his support of Republican John McCain during the presidential campaign. The former Democrat instead will lose his chairmanship of a global warming subcommittee, part of the Environment and Public Works Committee.
After President-elect Barack Obama said he didn't hold a grudge against Lieberman, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada noted Lieberman votes with the party most of the time. Reid initially took a tougher stand on Lieberman's fate in the Senate Democratic leadership.
"Joe Lieberman votes with me a lot more than a lot of my senators," Reid told Politico. "He didn't support us on military stuff and he didn't support us on Iraq stuff. But you look at his record, it's pretty good."
Some other caucus members said they were unhappy with Lieberman's actions and the party's apparent response. Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Bernie Sanders, Ind-Vt., issued statements last week calling for Lieberman to be stripped of his chairmanship. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said Lieberman's behavior was "unacceptable."
Stevens won't seek presidential pardon
WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen.
