Johnsen Senate confirmation hangs in limbo

The Beltway saga of IU law professor Dawn Johnsen’s confirmation drags on.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Tuesday he cannot find enough votes to confirm Dawn Johnsen as assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel. He said several Democrats would vote against Johnsen’s confirmation, making Senate democrats’ quest for a 60-vote, filibuster-proof majority on the matter evermore elusive.

Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., indicated hesitation to confirm Johnsen to head the OLC, citing her history as legal director of NARAL Pro-Choice America, an outspoken advocacy group for pro-choice policies.

The newest addition to the Senate Democrat majority, Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., would also vote against Johnsen.

President Obama nominated Johnsen for the position Jan. 5 after she served on his transition team as a member of the Department of Justice Review Team.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Johnsen’s nomination March 20 by an 11-7 vote along party lines after a quarrelsome confirmation hearing Feb. 25.

Johnsen previously served as acting assistant attorney general in the Clinton administration from 1996 to 1998 and as deputy assistant attorney general from 1993 to 1996. She began teaching constitutional law and the First Amendment at IU in 1998.