Joining Gonzales in 'Challenging Times'

This week U.S. Attorney Kevin J. O'Connor of Connecticut was named Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales's third chief of staff in as many months, meaning few can congratulate him on the promotion without a sympathetic laugh.

"Certainly everyone is aware that these are challenging times," he said. But when the attorney general makes an offer, "you certainly have to consider it."

O'Connor, 39, takes the job as Gonzales fights for his professional life amid a congressional investigation into his role in controversial firings of eight U.S. attorneys. The sackings were orchestrated by former Gonzales chief of staff D. Kyle Sampson, who quit last month. Sampson was replaced by Chuck Rosenberg, who will return to Alexandria, where he is the federal prosecutor for eastern Virginia.

O'Connor starts April 26. The last line of the statement announcing his appointment was its most tantalizing: "After four to six months, he and the Attorney General will determine whether he continues to hold both positions."

Hmmm. Why four to six months?

"That 'four to six months' was not motivated by any sort of hunch that he may or may not be here," O'Connor said, referring to Gonzales. He has four children under age six, and the trial period was based less on questions about Gonzales than "do I want to move the family down here."

O'Connor is one of half a dozen U.S. attorneys who divide their time between jobs in their home states and the District. In early 2006, he was named an associate deputy attorney general coordinating anti-gang policy. His new appointment drew questions from Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) about how O'Connor plans to perform both jobs.

O'Connor said he contacted Dodd's office but doesn't see a problem. "It's been done," he says. He said that his second-in-command has served as the interim U.S. attorney, that he trusts his staff, and that he's home almost every weekend.

He is, however, giving up the anti-gang job. "I'm not going to wear three hats, I can tell you that," he said. He hasn't asked whether he'll get a raise, because if the answer is no, "I'd have to disclose that to my wife."