President Donald Trump announced Friday that he is nominating William Barr, a veteran Washington lawyer, as his next attorney general.

In his announcement, Trump called Barr "one of the most respected jurists in the country, highly respected lawyer... a terrific man, a terrific person, a brilliant man."

Here's what we know about Barr:

Barr, 68, served as Attorney General under President George H.W. Bush.

He has served in the CIA, then as Deputy Attorney General and as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel.

After working in the Department of Justice, Barr worked at Verizon Communications and at Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

He received his A.B. and a M.A. in government and Chinese studies at Columbia University.

Barr served as Mueller's boss when he was attorney general in the early 1990s and Mueller led the criminal division at the Justice Department.

He defended Trump's decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey, writing in a Washington Post op-ed that Comey "did not recognize established limits on his powers."

Before Trump's announcement, the prospect of Barr taking over the Justice Department was well-received by some leading members of Congress in both parties.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, a Texas Republican who sits on the Judiciary Committee, called Barr an "interesting pick" on Thursday.

"I think getting the next nominee confirmed is going to be a little bit of a challenge," he said. "(Barr) may be the kind of person who would be easier to confirm."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said she was unfamiliar with Barr's views but encouraged by a suggestion that he was an "establishment" Republican. "I would hope (Trump) would pick someone who would be by the book and not by the politics," Feinstein said.