Md. Labor Secretary Chosen for Justice Post

Tom Perez, Maryland's labor secretary and a former Montgomery County council member, has been nominated to be President Obama's assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Justice Department. Our colleague Scott Wilson reports on the nomination in the 44 blog.

Perez, of Takoma Park, has spent much of his career working for the federal government, with prominent jobs at Health and Human Services and Justice. He served on the county council from 2002 to 2006. He ran for Maryland attorney general in 2006, the first Latino to seek statewide office, but was forced to withdraw from the race when an appeals court ruled that he had not practiced law long enough in the state to meet the constitutional requirements of the job. Perez was chosen by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) to head the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation in 2007.