Christie Nominates His 5th Attorney General
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) - New Jersey will soon have its fifth attorney general serving as part of the Christie Administration.
First it was Paula Dowd, who became a judge. Then Jeff Chiesa, who filled in when Senator Frank Lautenberg died. John Hoffman is now at Rutgers and Robert Lougy, appointed just three months ago, is up for a judgeship.
Enter Chris Porrino, who left his post as Chief Counsel to the Governor less than a year ago for a private sector job. He now returns to Trenton as Attorney General, presumably for the remaining 18 months of Christie's gubernatorial term.
Christie described his longtime friend in glowing terms before reporters in Trenton:
"Chris is open. He's honest. He's smart. He's tough. And he's forthright. All the types of things you would want in an Attorney General."
He will serve in an acting capacity, just like Hoffman and Lougy did, pending senate confirmation. But unlike those two men, it's thought Porrino will be confirmed and relatively soon.
"The exact time you'd have to talk to the Senate President," Christie said. "But it's my expectation we're talking a matter of weeks and not months."
Hoffman and Lougy never got senate confirmation as part of a dispute between the Senate and Christie over appointments to the state supreme court. That dispute was settled earlier this year.