GOP Backs Prosecutor Pick as Democrats Decry Jan. 6 Comments (1)

A Senate panel advanced a US attorney nominee for Alabama over Democrats’ objections that he’s part of an effort by President Donald Trump to install allies who will allow him to interfere with the November midterms.

The Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 on party lines on Thursday in favor of Phillip Williams, a former state lawmaker and radio host, to be US attorney for the Northern District of Alabama.

Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the top Democrat on the panel, said Williams’ lack of prosecutorial experience and his past statements calling Jan. 6 defendants “hostages” made him unfit for the role.

“Why is the president nominating these Jan. 6 apologists? Because he wants to make the case that the 2020 election was stolen in order to justify interfering in the 2026 election and he wants loyalist prosecutors who will help him carry out this mission,” Durbin said.

Durbin and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) cited the recent FBI raid on Fulton County, Ga., election facilities and Eastern District of Missouri US Attorney Thomas Albus’ role in securing a search warrant there for materials related to the 2020 election.

Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) defended Williams, noting his experience trying cases in court and past comments saying he didn’t support the violence that took place on Jan. 6.

“President Trump is nominating individuals who will uphold our Constitution and rule of law—it’s no surprise Democrats would be opposed to that,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement.