By BILLY HOUSE/Media General News Service
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WASHINGTON -- The Senate on Thursday approved President Bush’s choice of A. Brian Albritton of Tampa to be the next U.S. attorney for Florida's Middle District.
Albritton received the Senate’s unanimous consent without comment.
Reached at his office in Tampa, Albritton said he must wait for Bush to sign the commission papers and be sworn in, before he officially assumes his duties; he expects those to happen swiftly.
“I’m am very pleased, and very grateful. And the reason I’m grateful is that, to my mind, you get a position like this only with the support of so many others,” said Albritton.
In this case, Albritton said, that chiefly includes the bipartisan of both of Florida’s senators, Republican Mel Martinez and Democrat Bill Nelson.
Albritton, 51, a lawyer with Holland and Knight, would fill a vacancy dating from March 2007, when former U.S. Attorney Paul Perez resigned.
Interim U.S. Attorney Robert E. O'Neill did not apply for the permanent appointment.
The Middle District of Florida, one of the nation's largest federal judicial districts, extends from the Georgia border in northeast Florida to south of Naples.
Despite Albritton’s confirmation, University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias has said it is likely he would serve no more than two or three months in the job.
Most of Bush's U.S. attorneys, if not all, probably would be asked to resign early next year — especially if Democrat Barack Obama is elected president.
Asked about that, Albritton said, “I don’t know about the future. I am concentrating on today. And today’s a great day.”
But he later said he hopes to serve the balance of the president’s term “and more.”
Reporter Billy House can be reached at bhouse@mediageneral.com or at 1 (202) 662-7673.
Albritton received the Senate’s unanimous consent without comment.
Reached at his office in Tampa, Albritton said he must wait for Bush to sign the commission papers and be sworn in, before he officially assumes his duties; he expects those to happen swiftly.
“I’m am very pleased, and very grateful. And the reason I’m grateful is that, to my mind, you get a position like this only with the support of so many others,” said Albritton.
In this case, Albritton said, that chiefly includes the bipartisan of both of Florida’s senators, Republican Mel Martinez and Democrat Bill Nelson.
Albritton, 51, a lawyer with Holland and Knight, would fill a vacancy dating from March 2007, when former U.S. Attorney Paul Perez resigned.
Interim U.S. Attorney Robert E. O'Neill did not apply for the permanent appointment.
The Middle District of Florida, one of the nation's largest federal judicial districts, extends from the Georgia border in northeast Florida to south of Naples.
Despite Albritton’s confirmation, University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias has said it is likely he would serve no more than two or three months in the job.
Most of Bush's U.S. attorneys, if not all, probably would be asked to resign early next year — especially if Democrat Barack Obama is elected president.
Asked about that, Albritton said, “I don’t know about the future. I am concentrating on today. And today’s a great day.”
But he later said he hopes to serve the balance of the president’s term “and more.”
Reporter Billy House can be reached at bhouse@mediageneral.com or at 1 (202) 662-7673.