Mayor Adrian Fenty this morning formally nominated Peter Nickles to be the District’s permanent Attorney General. The move was widely expected; Fenty had been visibly lobbying D.C. Council members on behalf of Nickles, who has been serving as interim AG for almost six months, and the Post called it official on Tuesday.

“Peter Nickles has done a fantastic job for the residents of the District in his interim capacity,” said Mayor Fenty. “In just a few short months, he and his team have done some great work. We’re privileged to have him continue to serve.”

But just because we knew this was going to happen doesn’t mean the nomination is without controversy. Nickles has come under fire over the last six months for a number of calls he made.

At the outset, he fired Alan Morrison, the original lead attorney for the city on the Supreme Court handgun ban case. As we now know, the court ruled against the District. While it’s unlikely sticking with Morrison would have led the court to rule differently, there’s also no way to know for sure.

Later, Nickles fired eight attorneys and several other staffers in the AG’s office. A Superior Court judge recently ruled that seven of those firings were not done properly.

Last but not least, there’s the issue that the city’s top attorney is required to live in the District. Nickles has lived in Great Falls, Va. for over 40 years. The reliably grumpy Phil Mendelson (D-At large) was quick to send out a statement this morning on that issue.

“I expect a robust discussion regarding many of the questions surrounding this nominee, including the well-known residency requirement for this position,” Mendelson said. “It is mystifying, even though the Mayor clearly intended to make this choice months ago, the nominee still resides outside the District and has made no known effort to change that fact.”

Mayor Fenty also named Andrew “Chip” Richardson, his Interim General Counsel since January, as General Counsel to the Mayor.