Max Baucus, head of the powerful US Senate Finance Committee, admitted on Saturday that he nominated his girlfriend to be a federal prosecutor earlier this year, drawing criticism from a Republican leader who said it raised ethical questions.
The Democratic senator said he recommended Melodee Hanes, who served on his staff at the time and has a romantic relationship with the divorced lawmaker, and two others for the post of US attorney in his home state of Montana.
“As we grew closer and things progressed, we knew it was time to begin the process of Mel transitioning out of my Senate office,” Baucus said in a statement, which added that he and Hanes are living together in Washington.
Baucus called Hanes a “highly qualified prosecutor” and said he had not wanted their relationship to disqualify her from applying for the post.
Her name was one of three selected by an independent reviewer appointed by Baucus and sent to the White House for consideration, the senator said.
“But in the end, we decided it would be best for Mel to withdraw her name from consideration,” he said.
Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell declined to comment, but Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele called for a Senate Ethics Committee hearing into the process.
“Today’s report that Senator Max Baucus used his Senate office to advance a taxpayer-funded appointment for his staff-member girlfriend raises a whole host of ethical questions,” Steele said in a statement.
As Finance Committee chairman, Baucus has been a major player in the Senate in the development of healthcare reform legislation that is Obama’s top domestic priority.
He also is an important Democratic voice on tax and trade policy.
Baucus said Hanes was a former law professor who is widely regarded as an expert in child abuse prosecution, and she would have been an excellent US attorney for Montana.
Their decision to withdraw her name from consideration also allowed them to live together in Washington, he said.
Hanes, who began working for Baucus in 2003, now works at the US Justice Department. US President Barack Obama ultimately chose Michael Cotter, a lawyer from the Montana capital, Helena, for the US attorney’s post.
Baucus and Hanes were both separated from their former spouses when they got together and “it wasn’t an affair,” the senator said.
“Mel and I have a wonderful relationship. We are living together and enjoying spending time with each other and our families. I’m as happy as I’ve ever been,” his statement said.
Baucus, 67, has represented Montana in the Senate since 1978. He is popular in his home state and was re-elected last year to his sixth six-year term with 73 percent of the vote.
It was unclear whether the issue would undermine Baucus’ effectiveness or distract his attention from important policy issues.
He does not face re-election until 2014.
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