US News

RELAUNCH LYNCH: SCHUMER

Sen. Chuck Schumer is urging President Obama to put a familiar face in charge of waving the feds’ big stick in Brooklyn.

Schumer yesterday announced that he is backing Loretta Lynch, 49, to become the next US attorney in the Eastern District of New York, a post she held from 1999 to 2001 at the tail-end of Bill Clinton’s administration.

“Loretta’s tremendous experience and steadfast commitment to justice make her the ideal candidate,” Schumer said yesterday.

Currently a partner at Hogan & Harson in Manhattan, Lynch worked as a federal prosecutor in Brooklyn and Long Island for more than 10 years, beginning in 1990.

She would replace Benton Campbell., another veteran prosecutor, who has been acting as interim US attorney since 2007.

If Obama decides to nominate Lynch, the appointment would need approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which Schumer is a member.

The Eastern District spans Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island.