Rod Rosenstein Image by Getty Images

Rod Rosenstein, the top Justice Department official who appointed special counsel Robert Mueller, stuck close to President Trump’s line on Tuesday, praising the new leader’s policies in a speech to the NAACP.

“In President Trump’s inaugural address, he said that Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families and good jobs for themselves. These are just and reasonable demands,” Rosenstein, now Jeff Sessions’ deputy at the Justice Department, told the crowd of activists in Baltimore.

He did not address criticisms leveled by Trump at Jeff Sessions – Trump has complained that Sessions should not have recused himself on the Russia investigation, leaving Rosenstein in charge of the matter.

According to Politico, it was a tough room for Rosenstein, with little applause as he defended the administration’s new commitment to taking the side of law enforcement in police brutality cases.

Rosenstein has stepped into the spotlight with the firing of FBI director James Comey and the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller. He has served in three successive administration – those of George W. Bush, Barack Obama and now Trump.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief

You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.

And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.

That’s where you come in. Gifts of any size keep the Forward free and accessible to everyone and ensure we have the resources we need to power the Forward at this critical time for American Jews.

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. Will you support our work today?

— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$120 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT