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Who is Jeffrey Rosen? Meet the acting AG as Bill Barr steps down after 'nice meeting' with Donald Trump

Rosen had previously worked under Elaine Chao as deputy Transportation Secretary and he was then appointed to the Justice Department

On Monday, December 14, Attorney General William Barr declared that he would resign next week. After his resignation letter to President Donald Trump, POTUS announced on Twitter, "Just had a very nice meeting with Attorney General Bill Barr at the White House. Our relationship has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job! As per letter, Bill will be leaving just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family..." He also said, "...Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen, an outstanding person, will become Acting Attorney General. Highly respected Richard Donoghue will be taking over the duties of Deputy Attorney General. Thank you to all!”

This announcement came a few moments after counting in the Electoral College put president-elect Joe Biden over the 270 votes needed to formally secure the presidency. Even though there was tension brewing between Barr and Trump, the departure was presented as amicable. However, according to CNN, despite his positive message, Trump had been seriously thinking of firing his attorney general as recently as Sunday, December 13, people familiar with the matter said. But there were officials who did not believe he would dismiss Barr immediately.

As per the CNN report, Trump on Friday, December 11, again told officials in a meeting he wanted to fire Barr, and his opinion did not change over the weekend. However,  a White House official said Barr was not forced out or fired. "He wasn't asked to resign," the official said, insisting there was no tension during the meeting between Trump and Barr on Monday, December 14, afternoon. "It was a very amicable meeting," the official said. Another person familiar with the matter described the meeting as "cordial".

In his letter, Barr said that allegations of voter fraud would continue to be reviewed, despite asserting earlier this month there had been no evidence of widespread fraudulent voting. He praised the president as well. He wrote: "Your record is all the more historic because you accomplished it in the face of relentless, implacable resistance." Barr added, "No tactic, no matter how abusive and deceitful, was out of bounds. The nadir of this campaign was the effort to cripple, if not oust, your administration with frenzied and baseless accusations of collusion with Russia."

Who is Jeffrey Rosen?

Trump announced that Jeffrey Rosen will be the Acting Attorney General once Barr steps down. According to The Independent, Rosen had previously worked under Elaine Chao as deputy Transportation Secretary. He was then appointed to the Justice Department, replacing Rod Rosenstein as then-deputy attorney general. In May 2019, he was confirmed by the Senate by a party-line vote of 52-49.

Before being a part of the Trump administration, Rosen was with the Office of Management and Budget as its general counsel and senior policy adviser under former president George W Bush. He remained in the role until 2009.

As per the report, he is also a partner with one of the world’s most profitable law firms Kirkland & Ellis, which has represented a wide array of clients, including Bain Capital, BP and Jeffrey Epstein. Barr, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Trump-appointed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and former national security adviser John Bolton are among its alumni. He returned to the firm after leaving OMB in 2009 and remained there until his appointment in 2019.

What did Twitter say of Barr’s resignation?

A user commented, “Barr should have been barred by the Bar for acting as personal lawyer to Trump.” Another said, “Barr was an outstanding AG. I know his heart. He left in agreement from the President. Trump lost a faithful and truthful man!” One alleged, “I am sure AG Barr has something up his sleeve and that is the reason you are being so polite." Another said, “Barr had plenty of opportunities to do the right thing but he failed...”

These remarks were made by the internet and individual organizations, MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and nor does it support these claims being made on the Internet.