Obama to name Perez to U.S. Justice Department post

Maryland Secretary of Labor, Licensing and Regulation Thomas E. Perez will be named to a key post in President Barack Obama’s administration. Pending Senate confirmation, Perez will leave an increasingly high-profile role in state government to handle civil rights issues in the U.S. Department of Justice.

The White House announced late Friday afternoon that President Obama intends to nominate Perez as an assistant attorney general in the civil rights division, a similar but more senior role than Perez played in President Bill Clinton’s administration. He had been a deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights under Clinton after serving as a prosecutor in the department.

There had been broad speculation that Perez would assume a post in the Obama administration after he took an active role in the presidential transition, overseeing civil rights and justice issues. Some reports had indicated that Perez was the pick to head citizenship and immigration services in the Department of Homeland Security.

Through a spokeswoman, Perez declined to comment Friday evening.

Perez, 47, had been a visible part of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s administration since joining the state government two years ago. His study of the slot machine industry paved the way for O’Malley’s position on legalizing slots and ultimately helped pave the way for voter approval of slot machines last November.

He also has been a leading spokesman for the O’Malley administration on housing and foreclosure issues, and this year has taken a key role in pushing for unemployment insurance and workplace reforms before the General Assembly.