WASHINGTON — Chicago federal Judge Mark Filip was unanimously approved by the Senate on Monday as the Justice Department’s second-ranking official, marking the end of a small- scale odyssey that saw Filip’s nomination tumble into limbo because of continuing tension between Congress and Attorney General Michael Mukasey.
Filip, the choice of Mukasey, was confirmed amid charges by Republicans that the Democratic majority hadn’t done enough to move along the White House’s administrative and judicial nominations.
Filip, 41, is surrendering a lifetime appointment as a U.S. district court judge.
He was tabbed for the post of deputy attorney general in November and initially seemed to face little opposition. That changed, however, when Filip ran into the same trouble that jeopardized Mukasey’s nomination, namely his reluctance to brand the interrogation technique known as waterboarding as torture under U.S. law.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.,froze Filip’s nomination in its tracks until he received some requested answers from Mukasey on the interrogation technique.
“Judge Filip and I may not agree on every issue — in fact, we disagree on several — but his temperament, independence and legal ability are not in question,” Durbin said Monday.
