Hawaii AG Breezes Through Committee Vote
Attorney General Clare Connors had no worries heading into a vote from the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Attorney General Clare Connors easily cleared a confirmation vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday morning.
Connors, a former attorney at , had support from the rest of Gov. David Ige鈥檚 cabinet members and several Honolulu law firms.
Ige named Connors as the state鈥檚 top attorney in January. She now faces a confirmation vote in the full Senate.
Sen. Donna Mercado Kim said she wants Connors to pay more attention to some departments that don鈥檛 feel well represented and others that have talked about finding their own legal counsel separate from the AG鈥檚 office.
Sen. Karl Rhoads, who chairs the committee, asked Connors about her reasoning in joining a lawsuit in February against President Donald Trump鈥檚 emergency declaration to fund a wall on the Mexican border.
Connors said she considers legal issues and how a federal action impacts Hawaii.
She was recently involved in another high-profile case involving embattled Honolulu Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro.
In February, Connors asked the state Supreme Court to take away Kaneshiro鈥檚 law license. He鈥檚 since taken a leave from office.
Connors had no reason to fear for her job going into Wednesday鈥檚 committee. That differs from Public Safety Director Nolan Espinda, who lacks the support of a key Senate committee chair.
