■ President Donald Trump’s AG pick is poised to reclaim his old job in a changed Washington.

Barr worked for Bush 41 in a different GOP era

WASHINGTON — When William Barr was attorney general in the early 1990s, he was outspoken about some of America’s biggest problems — violent crime, drug addiction, teenage pregnancy. The “Age of Aquarius,” he warned, had given way to crack babies and broken families, misery and squalor.

The rhetoric reflected Barr’s deep-seated personal beliefs and was typical talk for a conservative Republican at a time when family values and tough-on-crime stances defined the party.

Now, as President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Barr is poised to return to the same job in a dramatically different Washington.

Republicans just pushed through the biggest criminal justice overhaul in a generation, easing prison sentences. Family values are seldom discussed while Trump, twice-divorced and accused of affairs and sexual misconduct, sits in the White House. Serving Trump, who faces intensifying investigations from the department Barr would lead, is unlikely to compare with his tenure under President George H.W. Bush.

Trump demands loyalty, breaking with the practice of shielding law enforcement from political influence. He publicly browbeats Justice Department leadership and ousted his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, for not protecting him in the Russia investigation. Though the pressures on Barr are bound to be enormous if he is confirmed, allies describe him as driven by his commitment to the department and clear-eyed about what is ahead.

“I have no doubt that he’s aware of any unique or unusual challenges that this Justice Department, his Justice Department, will confront,” said longtime friend and former colleague Chuck Cooper, who is also Sessions’ lawyer. “He approaches these challenges as a public servant who loves his country and who’s answering the call to service. That’s the spirit in which Bill Barr is accepting these challenges.”

The first challenge comes Tuesday when Democrats press him at his Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his broad views of presidential power, including an unsolicited memo he sent the Justice Department last year criticizing special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether the president had sought to obstruct the Russia investigation.

Barr is likely to win confirmation.

J. Scott Applewhite The Associated Press President Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee, William Barr, meets with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Wednesday on Capitol Hill. Barr has a confirmation hearing set for Tuesday.