WASHINGTON – It has been a near love-fest in recent months as Robert Mueller made his way around Capitol Hill for what was to have been the FBI director’s last set of annual appearances before congressional budget and oversight committees.
Democrats and Republicans alike gave him a friendly reception that went beyond mere formality into regret over his impending departure.
Now, if all goes according to plan, they’ll still have the face they’ve grown accustomed to at the FBI.
At the president’s request, Mueller, a former Marine, has agreed to re-up for a two-year hitch that will take him well into what Barack Obama hopes will be his second term as president. In doing so, Obama and Mueller have taken off the table what could have become a contentious political fight in the Senate over a replacement.
Circumstances combined to make it happen. Some promising candidates didn’t want the job. The president made key changes in his national security team. Plunging one more terrorism-fighting agency into a period of transition seemed unwise.
Under the proposed White House scenario, Mueller would serve until the start of September 2013, and then the president elected in 2012 would choose his successor for a 10-year term.
“Given the ongoing threats
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