President Donald Trump nominated Hon. Andrew Benson to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine on Tuesday, after Maine endured months without a U.S. Attorney following President Trump’s firing of Biden-appointed Darcie McElwee from the position in February.
[RELATED: Trump Fires Biden-Appointed Maine U.S. Attorney Darcie McElwee…]
The Senate Committee on the Judiciary first received the nomination on Tuesday.
The President fired McElwee in February and replaced her temporarily with Craig Wolff, a career prosecutor who has served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney since 2002.
As U.S. Attorney, Benson will, if confirmed, be the chief federal law enforcement official in the state and will be in a position to take action against the illegal Chinese-operated marijuana farms plaguing the state.
In her time, McElwee allowed the Chinese drug operation to continue with little opposition.
Benson was appointed by former Gov. Paul LePage (R-Maine) in 2014 and was previously a homicide prosecutor.
Sen. Susan Collins put out an official statement indicating strong support of the nomination:
“Benson was unanimously confirmed by the Maine State Senate both times, and I hope that he will receive bipartisan support here in the United States Senate. At a time when our state faces such serious threats, including illegal Chinese marijuana grow houses and increasing drug trafficking from out-of-state gang members, it is especially important that we fill this seat quickly.”
It appears likely that Benson will be easily confirmed to his position by the Republican-led Senate.
