Dawn Johnsen, President Obama’s nominee to the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel, last Friday withdrew her nomination. The Reform Movement had strongly supported Johnsen’s nomination; yesterday we issued a statement expressing our disappointment that she will not have the opportunity to serve in this position. Our Associate Director, Mark Pelavin, said:
After pushing for Ms. Johnsen’s confirmation for nearly a year, we are deeply disappointed that Ms. Johnsen will not have the opportunity to serve in this critical position. We remain convinced that Ms. Johnsen is supremely qualified to serve and we express deep concern about the extreme obstructionist tactics that delayed, and ultimately blocked, her confirmation.
The opposition to Ms. Johnsen was largely based on her support for
reproductive freedom and her opposition to torture. These positions are
consonant with those of the Reform Movement and should not disqualify
any willing public servant from a position in the Administration. We
applaud those, both in the advocacy community and the Senate, who
worked tirelessly in efforts to secure Ms. Johnsen’s confirmation and
hope the obstructionist tactics that we encountered will not become a
pattern for future nominations.The Office of Legal Counsel, which advises the President and
Administration on legal issues, has been operating without a leader for
over 15 months. We hope that when President Obama nominates a new
individual to fill the position, the Senate will respectfully and
expediently move the nominee through the confirmation process to allow
the Office of Legal Counsel to operate at its full potential.