Senate votes to confirm Trump pick William Barr as new attorney general

[brooklynite]

Source: The Hill

The Senate voted Thursday to approve William Barr as attorney general, giving the Justice Department its first confirmed chief since President Trump ousted Jeff Sessions last fall.

More than 50 senators voted for Barr’s nomination, giving him enough support to be confirmed. The vote caps off a relatively low drama fight over Trump’s second nominee for the post. Barr was largely on a glide path after he cleared the Judiciary Committee and a procedural vote without any missteps that threatened GOP support for his nomination.

Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) appeared to be the only Republican who would vote against Barr on Thursday, while Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Doug Jones (Ala.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) broke with their party and supported him.

Democrats have 47 seats in the Senate. With Manchin, Jones and Sinema voting earlier in the week to advance Barr’s nomination, Democrats would have needed to flip six Republicans in addition to Paul to sink his nomination.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/430025-senate-confirms-trump-pick-william-barr-as-new-attorney-general

[Shell_Seas]

1. I'm so surprises. Shocked, I tell you.

[MontanaFarmer]

2. I wouldn't say I love it

but I understand these Dems, especially Manchin and Sinema, voting for him. Jones, I think, is completely cooked for re-election either way, but it's basically irrelevant anyway since he would have cleared. Arizona is swinging our way, but it's going to take awhile, and Sinema will have to take some Heitkamp-like votes from time to time, I just hope she hangs with us when she's really needed!

[barbtries]

3. of course they did.

now we get to wait and see if he's a fascist or an American. If he believes in the Constitution or is a member of trump's cult. If he will hold up the rule of law or hasten the end of our democratic republic.

in the meantime the administration is willfully leaving the door wide open for the russians to steal 2020.

i don't need this fucking STRESS.

[MadLinguist]

4. We'd have only needed 3 more GOPers to reject Barr's nomination

Last edited Thu Feb 14, 2019, 04:32 PM - Edit history (1)

if the 3 Dems had stuck with their caucus.
47 Dems, 1 GOPer (Paul) would've got us to 48.
2 more GOP votes would have gotten us to a Pence tie-breaker.
But one more additional GOP would have been 51 nay, 49 yea.

Now our only hope is that Barr was somehow secretly gunning for the job (when he wrote critical views RE Mueller's investigative purview) to block Trump nominating a total loyalist shill. Or that he's somehow just gonna be a stand-up guy. All I can say for Manchin, Jones and Sinema is just because you're not paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.