Tennessee Supreme Court’s AG Pick Pleases Republicans, Rankles Democrats

Herb Slatery has been picked to serve eight years as Tennessee’s Attorney General. He was named Governor Bill Haslam’s general counsel in 2011. Prior to that, he was a private practice attorney in Knoxville. Credit: Jakob Lewis

Tennessee Attorney General Bob Cooper has been passed over for a second term. Instead, the Supreme Court has named Governor Bill Haslam’s general counsel — Herb Slatery — as the state’s top attorney.

The justices made their announcement to reporters in the Supreme Court chambers but refused to take questions, such as why they let Cooper go. Chief Justice Sharon Lee said in a statement that Slatery was the “very best lawyer to serve all Tennesseans.” He’s also a Republican — the first to serve as Tennessee attorney general since Reconstruction from the Civil War.

Conservatives have attacked Cooper, a Democrat, for not participating in multi-state lawsuits that push back against the Obama administration, particularly its Affordable Care Act. Shortly after being announced as Cooper’s successor, Slatery was asked whether he would change course.

“I’m not in a position where I could answer whether I’d join the Obamacare lawsuit,” Slatery said. “That has passed. We need to move on. I want to look forward, not back.”

Still, conservatives are applauding the pick. Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey — who just tried to unseat the Democratic majority on the state Supreme Court last month — praised their choice for attorney general, saying he will be a “vigilant defender of Tennessee’s conservative reforms.”

Attorney General Bob Cooper, however, encouraged Slatery to keep the job non-partisan.

“I extend my congratulations to my successor. I wish him the best of luck,” Cooper said, adding that he hoped Slatery would continue a “tradition of independence from partisan politics.”