Obama nominates John Stevens as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas

It’s been more than a year since President Barack Obama was sworn in as the commander in chief. On Feb. 24, he finally got around to making his first political appointment in Texas. The lucky winner is John Stevens, judge of the Criminal District Court in Jefferson County, who is Obama's nominee for U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas. The slow going in Obama’s Texas appointments has long been blamed on a partisan struggle between Texas Republican senators — who refuse to give up their roles of suggesting candidates to the White House even though their party doesn’t hold the executive office — and the Texas Democratic congressional delegation, who say they should have Obama’s ear when it comes to helping find people to fill U.S. attorney and U.S. district judge vacancies. Nevertheless, Stevens was an easy choice for Obama because both the Republican senators and the Democratic delegation suggested him. So it was easy for U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, who chairs the Texas Democratic delegation, to strike a conciliatory tone after Stevens nomination was announced by the White House. “With a distinguished record of service to East Texas, Judge Stevens will be one of the most qualified people to ever be appointed US Attorney. I appreciate the support of our United States Senators for his confirmation and expect that he will be swiftly confirmed,” Doggett writes in a prepared statement. Stevens could not be reached for comment.
-- John Council