AG Nominee William Barr Blames Shutdown for Ducking Klobuchar, Senator Says

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) says Attorney General nominee William Barr refused to meet with her before his confirmation hearing next week, citing the shutdown as the reason he couldn't make it. “They said I could meet him after the hearing, because of the shutdown, that they weren’t able to do the meeting,” Klobuchar said on All In With Chris Hayes on Wednesday night. “This is a first for me, because we did request a meeting… and I have always met with major cabinet members under both the Obama administration as well as the Trump administration.” Hayes pointed out that Barr had met with Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) earlier Wednesday, and Klobuchar confirmed that Barr was meeting with senators—just not her or other Democrats that submitted meeting requests, like Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). Barr's confirmation hearing is scheduled for Jan. 15. If confirmed, he will replace acting AG Matthew Whitaker—who replaced former AG Jeff Sessions on a temporary basis.