It's been roughly six months since a shortlist of potential nominees for U.S. attorney of the Southern District of New York began to come into focus. Since then the search has mainly gone quiet—while the politics of naming a successor for Preet Bharara and other U.S. attorneys have gotten even thornier.

President Donald Trump has named seven nominees to fill some of the 93 U.S. attorney slots nationwide, and, according to news accounts, he's also likely identified Ryan Patrick, the son of Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, to serve in that post in the Southern District of Texas.

But delays in key districts like the SDNY and the Southern District of Florida continue, while in most parts of the country the U.S. attorneys are “acting” leaders only.