Ho ho ho. This is going to be soooo much fun. Will the Toddler in Chief dare to veto this? I bet he will.

Senate votes to repeal secret Midnight Patriot Act provision that granted AG power to appoint interim USAtty’s without Senate confirmation:

The Senate voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to end the Bush administration’s ability to unilaterally fill U.S. attorney vacancies as a backlash to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ firing of eight federal prosecutors.

… With a 94-2 vote, the Senate passed a bill that canceled a Justice Department-authored provision in the Patriot Act that had allowed the attorney general to appoint U.S. attorneys without Senate confirmation.

… The bill, which has yet to be considered in the House, would set a 120-day deadline for the administration to appoint an interim prosecutor. If the interim appointment is not confirmed by the Senate in that time, a permanent replacement would be named by a federal district judge.

Essentially, the Senate returned the law regarding the appointments of U.S. attorneys to where it was before Congress passed the Patriot Act, including the unilateral appointment authority the administration had sought in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks.

Good job, Congresscritters. Keep your Kung Fu strong. Of course, none of this would’ve been necessary if you’d read the fucking Patriot Act before voting on it. With the Authoritarians, there must be constant vigilance, lest they steal all your power right out from under you. Because that’s what they do.