The Senate has confirmed Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) as the next attorney general. The Democrats attempted to persuade their colleagues with a 24 hour debate, but they lost one of their own.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) voted yes for Sessions. Therefore, Sessions won with 52 yes votes and 47 no votes. Sessions voted as present.
The Democrats have tried to cast Sessions as a racist and an enemy of the gay community. They also don’t believe he would stand up to President Donald Trump. But the Republicans, including Sen. Tim Scott (SC), have taken Sessions’s side and rebuked all of those claims.
Sessions will take over the Department of Justice for President Donald Trump, who had the senator’s strong support on the campaign trail.
The closeness between the two worried the Democrats, who do not believe that Sessions can say no to Trump. Their worries spiked after Trump dismissed acting Attorney General Sally Yates when she refused to enforce his temporary immigration ban.
From The Wall Street Journal:
Allegations of racial bias sank Mr. Sessions’ 1985 nomination for a federal judgeship, and the issue flared up again in this confirmation fight. Mr. Sessions and his allies have pushed back, highlighting civil-rights cases Mr. Sessions supported and showcasing support from black colleagues.At his recent confirmation hearing, Mr. Sessions described claims that he is racist as “damnably false.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) spoke on the Senate floor on Tuesday in Mr. Sessions’ defense and showed an award the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which opposed Mr. Sessions’ 1985 nomination to the federal bench, had given Mr. Sessions in 2009.
But during the debate, Sen. Tim Scott gave a passionate speech for Sessions, refuting all the claims of racism against Sessions and showed how the critics have skewered the past to smear Sessions.
Scott also read aloud tweets he has received for backing Sessions:
Sessions’s colleagues gave him a round of applause after voting ended.
Now the Democrats will begin another 24 hour debate before the Senate votes on Rep. Tom Price as Secretary of Health and Human Services on Thursday.
7:19PM EST: Sessions has the majority with 51 YES votes.
7:00PM EST – Taking roll and will vote on confirmation right afterwards.
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