This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.
This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Thursday to advance President Biden’s first slate of U.S. attorney nominees, including Del. Erek Barron (D-Prince George’s), who is nominated to the post in Maryland.
A vote by the entire U.S. Senate is expected in the next few weeks. If confirmed, Barron, 47, would be the first Black U.S. attorney in Maryland’s history.
U.S. Sens. Benjamin L. Cardin (D) and Chris Van Hollen (D) issued a joint statement applauding the committee’s vote.
“Maryland needs a U.S. Attorney with integrity, independence, and a passion for delivering equal justice under the law to Marylanders. Erek Barron’s background as both a prosecutor and state legislator committed to criminal justice reform measures makes him uniquely qualified for this position,” the lawmakers said. “…We will continue working towards his swift approval by the full Senate so he can take charge of our federal efforts to improve public safety and deliver justice for all Marylanders.”
Biden nominated Barron for the position in July.
The Prince George’s County lawmaker has a relationship with the president that includes a stint from 2007 to 2009 as counsel and policy adviser to Biden on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs. Barron was also co-chair of the group Marylanders for Biden, which formed early in the 2020 presidential election campaign.
Barron is a partner at the law firm of Whiteford Taylor & Preston and has represented District 24 in the House of Delegates since 2015.
He previously worked as a federal prosecutor in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and as a prosecutor at the Prince George’s County and Baltimore City state’s attorney’s offices.
Barron was nominated to fill the position previously held by U.S. Attorney Robert Hur, who resigned in February 2021 shortly after Biden took office. Jonathan Lenzner has been serving as acting U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland since that time.
