By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
WASHINGTON — D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeff Taylor, who held one of the higher profile U.S. Attorney posts in the nation, is stepping down this Friday.
Taylor, 44, who held the post since 2006, oversaw some of the biggest FBI investigations including the deadly anthrax probe.
D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton had made it clear that she planned to recommend a replacement, and Taylor knew he had no chance of staying on under the Obama regime.
His interim replacement is likely to be named by Friday. Melissa Schwartz, a Justice Department spokesperson, said late Thursday afternoon that no one had been named yet.
In a prepared statement, Taylor said:”Serving the residents of the District of Columbia has been the most rewarding experience of my life.”
Taylor will lead the fraud investigation practice at the auditing firm Ernst & Young, according to a company press release.
Before taking the post, from 2002 to 2006, Taylor served as counselor to Attorney Generals John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales. Prior to that, he was an assistant U.S. Attorney in California and served as counsel to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
Initially, Taylor took the U.S. Attorney post on an interim basis and federal judges extended his tenure.
Some candidates for the permanent U.S. Attorney job include the office spokesman Channing Phillips, Ron Machen, Roy Austin Jr. , Anjali Chaturvedi and Shanlon Wu.
So far, President Obama has only nominated six U.S. Attorneys around the nation.
