Learning on the job: Trump pick for state's US attorney has no experience in criminal law

After the Trump Administration announced the nomination of Daniel Rosen as Minnesota’s next U.S. Attorney, one detail stood out: the state’s very likely, soon-to-be top federal prosecutor has scant experience in the field of criminal law.

Rosen, 59, has spent most of his three-decade-long legal career as a civil litigator, carving out a reputation as a top eminent domain lawyer. He represented the main landowner in what is believed to be the largest eminent domain case in Minnesota history, which paved the way for the development of Target Field.

But when it comes to the bread-and-butter work of the office of the U.S. Attorney — locking people up for federal crimes — Rosen is a novice. Assuming he is confirmed by the Senate, that will differentiate him from his recent predecessors.

Since 1991, six appointees have served as U.S. Attorney for Minnesota. Of those, just one — Clinton appointee David Lillehaug — arrived in office without at least a short stint as an assistant U.S. attorney on the resume.

By contrast, Erica MacDonald, who was U.S. Attorney for Minnesota during the first Trump administration, logged eight years as an assistant U.S. attorney and an additional eight years as a state court judge prior to her appointment.

Likewise, Andrew Luger, who served during both the Obama and Biden administrations, spent six years as an assistant U.S. attorney in New York (and nearly two decades in private practice) before he became Minnesota’s top prosecutor.

“If you’re going by traditional credentials, it’s a very unusual pick,” said David Schultz, a professor of political science and law at Hamline University in St. Paul. “Generally, you’re looking for people with more of a prosecutorial background. I can’t think of any situation where you would need an eminent domain expert in that office.”

Schultz said that he does not know Rosen personally, has little insight into his politics and emphasized that he did not intend to disparage Rosen’s professional reputation.

But Schultz said that it is clear that political loyalty, rather than expertise, has emerged as the prime consideration in the selection of U.S. Attorney nominees during the second Trump administration.

The dynamic was highlighted by the nomination of Ed Martin — who pushed claims Trump won the 2020 election — as the U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., the most prestigious of all 93 U.S. Attorney offices.

Last week, Martin’s nomination withered amid concerns about his full-throated defense of the Jan. 6 rioters and public association with a known Nazi sympathizer. Trump then tapped the Fox News host and conspicuous Trump loyalist Jeanine Pirro to fill the post.

Barry Anderson, a retired associate justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court, served as the chairman of the committee that recommended Rosen’s nomination to the four Republican members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation.

Anderson said he and his colleagues conducted hour-long interviews with three finalists: Rosen, MacDonald, and Ronald Schutz, a partner and trial lawyer at Robins Kaplan, the large Minneapolis law firm.

“I think we were all impressed. I was impressed by his civil trial experience,” said Anderson.

Asked about Rosen’s dearth of prosecutorial experience, Anderson responded that there was “some discussion about that.”

“I don’t view that as a critical deficiency,” he said. “There is no such thing as the perfect applicant who ticks every single box. It’s the entire package that makes a good candidate. And one of the advantages that a civil practitioner brings to the table is that wide variety of experience.”

In announcing Rosen’s nomination, the Republican members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation were fulsome with their praise. In a statement, the group branded Rosen “one of the sharpest legal minds in the country.”

Reached for comment, Rosen declined to speak on the record but offered a one sentence statement: “I’m honored by the nomination, and I look forward to the confirmation process.”

A Minnesota native, Rosen has been a reliable donor to Republican candidates and causes for over 20 years. His giving has occasionally crossed the aisle. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Angie Craig are among the past recipients of his giving ($2,800 and $500, respectively).

Rosen graduated from the prestigious Blake School in 1983, where his classmates wrote on his senior page that he was “going to be the first Jewish president.”

He attended college at the University of Wisconsin before going to law school at the University of Minnesota. He also served as an officer in the U.S. Navy during the first Gulf War.

In his legal practice, he worked alongside his lawyer father, then logged five years as a solo practitioner before co-founding the firm Parker Rosen. In 2017, he became the partner in charge of the Minneapolis office of a Miami-biased law firm before returning to solo practice several years ago.

The Senate confirmation form lists him as a Florida resident, but MPR News reported recently that he plans to move back to Minnesota.

Rosen is a past chairman of the Minnesota Council of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee.

In 2014, he was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton to the Minnesota Campaign Finance & Public Disclosure Board, where he served for seven years. According to the minutes of a December 2021 meeting, the board voted on a resolution to thank him for his years of hard work as his tenure came to an end. The resolution passed 5 to 1, with the lone nay vote coming from Rosen.