Federal Prosecutor’s Nomination For West Michigan Blocked

tomleonard-6
tomleonard-6

President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as the top federal prosecutor in west Michigan is being held up by Michigan’s two Democratic senators. The Detroit News reports former state House Speaker Tom Leonard’s nomination, announced in August, is being blocked after Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters declined to meet with him. Typically, a nominee isn’t confirmed without two positive blue slips from his or her home-state senators, but the Republican-controlled Senate has approved some appeals court nominees anyway. Leonard was nominated as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Michigan, which covers 49 counties. He ran unsuccessfully for attorney general in 2018, losing to Democrat Dana Nessel.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.