Trump Mulls Attorney General Pick From Top Guns

Four contenders have emerged in the past 48 hours to be attorney general under President-elect Donald Trump.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., are high on the list to be the nation's top law enforcement official, considered one of Trump's most consequential appointments.

In addition, The Washington Post reported that John Ratcliffe, who was director of national intelligence in the first Trump administration, was also being considered. Ratcliffe was a representative from Texas and a U.S. attorney.

Sources close to the Trump transition team told Newsmax that former Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia also is a candidate. Scalia drew high marks for his stint in the Cabinet from Trump, who frequently voiced admiration for his late father, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Lee, who Trump seriously considered for the Supreme Court vacancy that went to Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Schmitt, a former state attorney general, would almost certainly be guaranteed swift confirmation in the soon-to-be-Republican-ruled Senate.

Trump has made no secret of his desire to upend career DOJ lawyers he blames for the criminal prosecution of him and numerous associates during his first administration.

Others who could be on Trump's radar for top DOJ job include former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker and Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general who has become one of Trump's most trusted advisers.

John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.