well qualified" nominee to head the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), top Senate Judiciary Committee members maintain in a column for The National Law Journal.
Sens. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sheldon Whitehouse, chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts, write that months "of obstruction by Senate Republicans" have stymied a vote on Dawn Johnsen's nomination to lead the OLC, noting that Obama nominated her a year ago.
Leahy and Sheldon write:
Johnsen has previously served for five years in OLC. She defended legitimate presidential powers. She produced opinions that conformed to the law, even if they did not advance the president's political interests. She has a proven record of setting aside her personal views to render independent legal opinions rooted in the Constitution and the law. Johnsen's former colleagues have called her the conscience of the office. Walter Dellinger, her former boss at OLC, has said that she ‘will be the best head of the OLC in the history of the office.'
Main Justice notes that after Obama re-nominated Johnsen, an Indiana University law school professor and a former member of the ACS Board of Directors, in January, the Senate committee has continued to delay a vote on the nomination. "The panel is expected to consider her nomination next week," according to Main Justice.
Dawn Johnsen's nomination to lead the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) was delayed again by the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning. Johnsen, a former member of the ACS Board of Directors, was first announced as President Obama's OLC nomination in January 2009. After prior support of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Johnsen's nomination spent the better part of 2009 -- a year of 
Sen. Arlen Specter previously