Who Should Run the Justice Department?

I used to think that the Attorney General was in charge of the Justice Department. In the spirit of Senator Leahy declaring himself Solicitor General, the Washington Post prefers to cede responsibility to bureaucrats. A recent story ("Justice Staff Saw Texas Districting As Illegal") makes news out of non-news: Justice Department bureaucrats reached one conclusion on the question before them, and their superiors (and later, a federal court) disagreed.

There won't be any significant quoting in this post because the "story" doesn't deserve it. Next time the Supreme Court rules a way that the Post doesn't like, I wouldn't be surprised to see a story about how someone somewhere with no authority disagreed on paper. Thank you, Washington Post, for bringing us more "nonsensical political babble."

Oddly enough, while the dispute is about the effects of redistricting in Texas on federally-required racial gerrymandering, election results were positive: "Texas now has three African Americans serving in Congress, up from two before the redistricting."

For more on the policy debate over mandatory racial gerrymandering, check out "A 65-Year Emergency?"