Vanita Gupta: Biden’s nominee attorney general is confirmed after Lisa Murkowski breaks ranks

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Vice President Kamala Harris attended a procedural vote on Wednesday morning in case she was needed for a possible 50-50 draw, but her vote was not needed after Murkowski, a moderate Alaska Republican, broke with her Republican colleagues to support Gupta . .

With her confirmation, Gupta will be the first woman of color to become associate attorney general, joining Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco as the No. 3 officer in the Department of Justice.

Murkowski explained her support for Gupta on the Senate floor, saying she was troubled by some of Gupta’s statements, but decided to back her confirmation after a lengthy discussion with the candidate.

‘I asked her frankly,’ Why do you want this? Is this worth it? ‘Because this has obviously been very difficult for her as a nominee,’ said Murkowski. ‘And she paused and thought for a moment, and talked about how she felt called to serve in a very personal way, which I thought was impressive . ‘

“I’m going to give the benefit of the doubt to a woman who I believe has shown throughout her professional career that she is deeply and deeply committed to matters of justice,” said Murkowski.

Republicans were almost completely united in their opposition to Gupta, who led the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department under the Obama administration. They have claimed that Gupta was a “radical” candidate, accusing her of changing her stance on issues such as drug legalization and police financing. Senate leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday accused Gupta of “a record of astonishingly radical views.”

“She committed attacks on members of this body, and during the confirmation process she used the loosest interpretation of her oath to give an honest testimony,” McConnell said.

But Democrats have accused Republicans and outside conservative groups of running a smear campaign to try to block Gupta’s nomination, noting her long-serving law enforcement groups to be the No. 3 official at the Justice Department.

Vanita Gupta, attorney general candidate for US President Joe Biden, speaks at a confirmation hearing before the Senate committee in March.

“Ms. Gupta is not only the first woman of color to ever be nominated for the position, she is also the first civil rights attorney ever nominated for the position, the third Justice Department official,” said the Senate majority leader. Chuck Schumer. ‘That is actually shocking. We have never had a former civil rights attorney hold such a prominent position in such a prominent position at the Department of Justice. In that sense alone, Ms. Gupta would take a long-awaited look at our federal law. Enforcement office. “

Prior to a final vote on Gupta’s confirmation, Senate Judiciary Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, and Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, held a long debate over the nomination and Gupta’s statements about legalization. of drugs, highlighting the controversy of the vote.

Biden cited the nominations of Gupta and Kristin Clarke, his candidate to lead the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, in his speech Tuesday following the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial, saying they would “ eradicate unconstitutional police and reform our criminal justice system ‘. at the Ministry of Justice.

While Harris didn’t have to vote on Gupta’s nomination, she may be running for the president’s nominees soon – even later on Wednesday. Several nominees coming to the floor soon, including Clarke and Colin Kahl, Biden’s choice to become head of Pentagon policy, have faced stiff GOP opposition. A vote to dismiss Kahl’s nomination from the Armed Services Committee is expected later Wednesday.

Harris’ role as a tie-breaker in the Senate is likely still a constant reality for the Vice President in a Senate evenly spaced 50-50 along party lines. Harris has cast four tie-breaking votes in the Senate so far, including during February’s “vote-a-rama” on the Senate budget resolution.

Gupta’s confirmation hearing in the Senate Judicial Committee was controversial, and there was a procedural row during last month’s vote over her nomination to the committee. Republicans accused Democrats of cutting off the debate to force the vote, while Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin said he was forced to do so only because Republicans would appeal to the ‘two-hour rule from the Senate in an effort to stop the vote. .

Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, said last week that in retaliation for the vote, he would suspend all nominations of US attorneys from Democratic states in the judicial committee.

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.

CNN’s Morgan Rimmer and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.

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