Rival politicians frequently accused him of exploiting public fears about immigration, as he made contentious claims about people feeling uncomfortable living next door to Romanians and awkward when others spoke foreign languages on the train.
Analysis: The legal profession may be wary of Gove, given he is not a lawyer and has made contentious statements on justice policy, including calling for the return of hanging and accusing the Stephen Lawrence inquiry of bearing the 'whiff of Salem'.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy may actually fulfill a campaign promise made by Barack Obama long ago -- that federal policy should consider science much more than political fallout when making contentious decisions.
But he also brought a uniquely combative attitude to a position that has traditionally been filled by lawyers who shy away from making contentious statements about immigration enforcement ― one of the country's most divisive political issues.
"Issues, parades that should be low key that should be non-contentious, there are small groups of people trying to make them contentious".
Last month Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, recently joked with Democratic donors that wanted them to help make the contentious issue "go away".
They didn't mess with immigration, abortion laws, voting laws or school vouchers — issues that divide lawmakers along ideological lines and make for contentious gatherings like the 2011 legislative session.
The Liverpool manager was unwittingly dragged into the controversy that led to Keys and Andy Gray being suspended by the satellite channel when the Sky Sports presenter alleged that "Kenny will go potty" if Sian Massey were to make a contentious offside decision in the match at Wolverhampton.
But now a federal appeals court ruling in the Louima case, which acquitted two former officers and ordered a new trial for a third, will force the department to make several contentious decisions and revisit in painstaking detail an internally wrenching incident that was one of the low points in its history.
Then he proceeded to make fresh contentious comments, first by repeating the comparison between slavery and welfare dependence: "Receiving welfare and housing – is that a sense of slavery when you get caught up in that and can't get out of it for generations?
