Trump expected to tap longtime federal prosecutor for key post

US President-elect Donald Trump is expected to nominate Baltimore Attorney Rod Rosenstein for Deputy Attorney General, according to sources.

Rosenstein is being picked for a key post to help run the Justice Department under Senator Jeff Sessions, who is anticipated to win Senate confirmation as Attorney General in the coming weeks, CNN reported on Friday.

Rosenstein is the longest serving US attorney at the Justice Department, having won unanimous Senate confirmation to his current post in 2005 under the administration of former President George W. Bush.

The then Democratic-controlled Senate refused to confirm his 2007 nomination to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

According to the sources, Trump has allowed his Cabinet nominees to play a major role in helping fill top positions in their agencies, a strategy past administrations have not always followed.

Senator Sessions, a former US attorney in Alabama, helped choose Rosenstein, transition officials said.

Despite initial objections by Democrats, Sessions is expected to easily win confirmation.

The deputy attorney general leads day-to-day management of the 111,000 employees of the Justice Department.

--IANS

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