When Yale Law School Dean Harold Koh was nominated to be top legal counsel at the State Department, the right wing unleashed its hysteria, charging Koh of being an “transnationalist” who was bent on imposing Sharia law in the U.S. Now an anonymous senator has placed a hold on Koh’s nomination, a source told Talking Points Memo:
Koh, who if confirmed will serve as legal adviser to the State Department, was reported out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about three weeks ago, but has languished ever since — a fact which, I’d imagine, makes him thrilled that he resigned as Dean of Yale’s Law School in order to serve in government.
Recall that before the committee vote, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) also placed a hold on Koh’s nomination. That delay only lasted a week.
The Facebook group “We Support Harold Hongju Koh” and Jay Michaelson at the Huffington Post both write that the hold has been placed by Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and David Vitter (R-LA). ThinkProgress called both Cornyn’s and Vitter’s offices, but was unable to confirm that they are responsible for the hold.