Senate confirms Trump nominee William Barr as attorney general

He takes over the position with the special counsel's report on Trump and Russian collusion expected to land on his desk within weeks.</s>After a debate clouded by how the Justice Department will handle the results of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, the Senate voted mainly along party lines Thursday to confirm William Barr for the post of Attorney General, as Barr returns to the Justice Department almost 28 years after holding the same position. The Senate vote was 54-45.

“The President made an outstanding choice with Mr. Barr,” said Sen. John Thune (R-SD). “He was unanimously confirmed as Attorney General under George H.W. Bush in a Democrat-controlled Senate.”

“We know that he can faithfully execute the duties of the office because he has done it before,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).

Only one GOP Senator voted against Barr’s nomination – Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), while three Democrats voted for Barr.

President Trump forced out his original Attorney General, former Sen. Jeff Sessions, just after the November 2018 elections, after months of expressing frustration that Sessions did not do enough to shield Mr. Trump from the Russia probe.

At the White House, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called the vote a ‘major victory for justice and the rule of law in America.”

In debate on the Senate floor, Democratic Senators repeatedly said that Barr was certainly qualified to again take the job of Attorney General, but most of them focused on Barr’s unsolicited memo to the White House which was critical of the Mueller investigation, as reason enough to oppose the nomination.

“I find Mr. Barr's actions in the months leading up to his nomination to be deeply disturbing,” said Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA).

“The President believes William Barr will be an Attorney General who will protect him,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI).

“Barr's record shows that he is not the Attorney General America desperately needs,” added Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

The Senate vote to confirm Barr filled one Cabinet vacancy for the President – but other major posts in the Trump administration remain unfilled, occupied by officials in an ‘acting’ capacity:

+ Patrick Shanahan is the Acting Secretary of Defense.

+ David Bernhardt is the Acting Secretary of Interior.

+ Andrew Wheeler is the Acting head of the EPA.

+ Jonathan Cohen is the Acting U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

+ Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney is Acting White House Chief of Staff.

The vote on Barr Thursday was much different than his first confirmation for Attorney General in November of 1991 – then, the Senate approved him on a voice vote, with no opposition.

Barr joins a very short list of people who have served twice as U.S. Attorney General.

John Crittenden was Attorney General twice in the first half of the 19th century. Richard Thornburgh served one very short stint as an Acting Attorney General, and then later was the Attorney General before Barr for the first President Bush.</s>The Senate voted on Tuesday to break a Democratic filibuster of the nomination of William Barr to be the next US attorney general.

The 55-to-44 vote split on partisan lines with only three Democrats voting to advance Trump’s nominee. Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Doug Jones of Alabama and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona joined Republicans to support Barr’s nomination. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was the only Republican to vote no.

Nearly all the Democrats running or considering running for president voted against advancing the nomination, though Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey did not vote.

A final vote is expected later this week.

Many Democrats raised concerns about Barr’s oversight of the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 election because he had expressed doubts about the probe in a memo he wrote to the Department of Justice before he was nominated.

Democrats also worry that Barr is not fully committed to releasing Mueller’s report on his findings once he completes his investigation.

Republicans have praised Barr, who served as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush’s administration, as a reliable pick who will be a steady leader at the embattled department, which has drawn fire from Trump almost since the beginning of his term.

Barr will replace acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker who has filled the role temporarily after former Attorney General Jeff Sessions was fired by Trump last year.</s>The Senate crossed the 51-vote threshold to confirm William Barr as President Trump’s new attorney general Thursday.

The vote puts Barr — who served as George H.W. Bush’s attorney general — in charge of the Justice Department and special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.

With the final votes still being cast, Barr apparently dispelled Democrats’ concerns about how he would manage Mueller’s probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.</s>WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday voted to confirm William Barr as attorney general, 54-45.

The confirmation of President Donald Trump's nominee, who will oversee special counsel Robert Mueller's probe, had been expected given the GOP's 53-47 control of the chamber.

During his confirmation hearing last month, Barr told Congress that he believes Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign should continue unimpeded.

Republicans praised the Barr as a steadying presence, with White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted that his confirmation was a "victory for the rule of law."

"He is a steady hand at a time of turmoil and he will bring much needed reform to the Department of Justice," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement.

Several Democrats who did not support the nomination pointed to the incoming attorney general's views on executive power, with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., saying he had been "concerned with the views Mr. Barr expressed on the unitary executive theory and expansive presidential power. We need an Attorney General who recognizes the need for checks and balances, including within the Executive Branch."

Barr, who was to be sworn in at the White House later Thursday afternoon, will assume the nation's top law enforcement position with the results of Mueller's probe expected to land on his desk in a matter of weeks.

Democrats questioned at his confirmation hearing whether he would make public the results of Mueller's investigation, as Barr suggested that neither the Mueller report nor even a redacted version of it would be made public, but possibly only a summary written by the attorney general. The law requires only that Mueller transmit his report to the AG.

Barr also faced criticism from Democrats over an unsolicited memo he sent to the Justice Department last year in which he criticized part of the special counsel's probe as "fatally misconceived" and he was questioned about his views on executive power ability to be independent from Trump.

Barr, 68, who has been counsel at the Kirkland & Ellis law firm, served as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush from 1991 until 1993, following an 18-year civil service career that began at the CIA.

The new attorney general, nominated by Trump in December to replace Jeff Sessions, will be only the second person to hold the job twice. John Crittenden was the first, in the 19th century.</s>(WASHINGTON) — The Senate on Thursday confirmed William Barr as attorney general, placing the veteran government official and lawyer atop the Justice Department as special counsel Robert Mueller investigates Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The Senate voted 54-45 to confirm him, mostly along party lines. Barr, who previously served as attorney general from 1991 to 1993, will succeed Jeff Sessions. Trump pushed Sessions out of office last year after railing against his decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation.

As the country’s chief law enforcement officer, Barr will oversee the remaining work in Mueller’s investigation into potential coordination between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign and decide how much Congress and the public know about its conclusion. He’ll also take over a department that Trump has publicly assailed, often questioning the integrity and loyalty of those who work there.

Democrats, who largely voted against Barr, said they were concerned about his non-committal stance on making Mueller’s report public. Barr promised to be as transparent as possible, but said he takes seriously the Justice Department regulations that dictate Mueller’s report should be treated as confidential.

Opponents of Barr also pointed to a memo he wrote to Justice officials before his nomination. In it, he criticized Mueller’s investigation for the way it was presumably looking into whether Trump had obstructed justice. Barr wrote that Trump could not have obstructed justice by firing former FBI Director James Comey since it was an action the president was constitutionally entitled to take.

That view has alarmed Democrats, especially since the obstruction inquiry has been central to Mueller’s investigation.

“Mr. Barr’s views about the power of the president are especially troubling in light of his refusal to commit to making the special counsel’s findings and the report publicly available,” said California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary panel. Feinstein said the attorney general should be someone who is “objective, who is clearly committed to protecting the interest of the people, the country and the Constitution.”

When Barr is sworn into office this week, he will be tasked with restoring some stability after almost two years of open tension between Trump and Justice officials. Trump lashed out at Sessions repeatedly before he finally pushed him out in November, and he has also publicly criticized Mueller and his staff, calling the probe a “witch hunt” and suggesting they are out to get him for political reasons. The criticism extended to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller as special counsel. Rosenstein is expected to leave the department shortly after Barr takes office.

Trump has directed some of his strongest vitriol at department officials who were part of the decision to start investigating his campaign’s Russia ties in 2016 and also the decision to clear Democrat Hillary Clinton in an unrelated e-mail probe that same year. Trump has repeatedly suggested that the agents and officials, many of whom have since left, were conspiring against him. In an interview aired Thursday, fired former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe told CBS’ “60 Minutes” that Justice Department officials discussed bringing the Cabinet together to consider using the Constitution’s 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office after the president fired Comey.

Trump responded to the McCabe interview with a tweet: “Disgraced FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe pretends to be a ‘poor little Angel’ when in fact he was a big part of the Crooked Hillary Scandal & the Russia Hoax – a puppet for Leakin’ James Comey. I.G. report on McCabe was devastating.”

In his hearing last month, Barr vowed that he would not “be bullied,” said Mueller’s investigation is not a witch hunt and agreed that Sessions was right to recuse himself from the probe. Barr said he was a friend of Mueller’s and repeatedly sought to assuage concerns that he might disturb or upend the investigation as it reaches its final stages.

When Trump nominated Barr, he called him “a terrific man” and “one of the most respected jurists in the country.”

“I think he will serve with great distinction,” Trump said.

Since Sessions departed last year, the position has been temporarily filled by Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, who has come under fire from Democrats for his past criticism of the Mueller probe. Whitaker said last month that he believed Mueller’s investigation was nearly complete — a departure for the Justice Department, which rarely comments on the state of the investigation.

Lawmakers in both parties have said a permanent replacement for Sessions was urgently needed.

“All I can say is if America ever needed a steady hand at the Department of Justice, it is now,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, the Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “Mr. Whitaker has done a good job as interim attorney general, but we are looking for a new person to bring stability, improve morale, and be a steady hand and mature leadership at a time when our country is very much divided.”

Graham said Barr stood out “head and shoulders” above others who could have been nominated.

“To the American people, you can go to bed here soon knowing that the Department of Justice is in good hands,” Graham said.

Three Democrats — Sens. Doug Jones of Alabama, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona — joined Republicans in voting to confirm Barr. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of South Carolina voted against him, citing concerns about Barr’s views on surveillance, among other issues.</s>WASHINGTON – The Senate confirmed William Barr as attorney general on Thursday, putting him in charge of a Justice Department conducting multiple investigations of the campaign and administration of a president who has been sharply critical of its leadership.

The largely party-line vote of 54-45 came despite concerns from some Democrats about how Barr planned to oversee special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Barr was already at the Justice Department as the Senate voted. He was scheduled to be sworn in Thursday at 4:45 p.m. at the White House.

Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, called the confirmation was "a major victory for justice and the rule of law."

Barr steps into a difficult job as the country's top law-enforcement officer. President Donald Trump ousted his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, in November after more than a year of criticism for recusing himself from the Russia probe that the president calls a "witch hunt." Trump complained to the newspaper The Hill in September that "I have no attorney general."

Sessions' interim replacement, Matthew Whitaker, came under fire from Democrats in Congress after he rejected a recommendation from department attorneys that he too step aside from that case.

Barr, 68, is a widely respected Washington lawyer who has already served as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush. He takes over an agency grappling with an epidemic of illegal drug overdoses and a crackdown on migrants who entered the United States illegally that separated thousands of children from their families.

"If America ever needed a steady hand at the Department of Justice, it is now," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. "Mr. Whitaker has done a good job as interim attorney general, but we're looking for a new person to bring stability, improve morale and be a steady hand – mature leadership – at a time when our country is very much divided."

But some of the most delicate questions he faces could be those posed by Mueller's investigation and a separate criminal probe into illegal payments in the final months of the 2016 campaign to silence two women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump.

"Multiple criminal investigations loom over the Trump presidency," Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, said on the Senate floor Wednesday. "These investigations may ultimately define it. And the president has reacted to them the only way he knows how: to attack relentlessly. That includes attacking investigators, witnesses, even the justice system itself."

Barr has given little indication of how he would handle either case.

He told lawmakers he would allow Mueller to complete his investigation, and that he would resist outside interference in investigators' work. But he also holds expansive views of presidential power, and once wrote a memo questioning the legal theory that might permit Mueller to conclude that the president had tried to obstruct the Russia inquiry. And Barr has suggested the public might never learn all the details of what the special counsel has found.

Barr told senators at his confirmation hearing last month that he would release as much information as possible about Mueller's findings. But he also cited a Justice Department policy to avoid publishing derogatory information about people who aren’t charged criminally.

The department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has an opinion that a sitting president can’t be indicted, and several Democrats worried that the combination of those two things could lead Barr to keep confidential parts of the report dealing with Trump.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said she opposed Barr because of his expansive view of executive authority.

“Taken to its natural conclusion, Mr. Barr's analysis squarely places this president above the law," Feinstein said Wednesday on the Senate floor.

Barr arrived on the same day that former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe acknowledged opening an obstruction of justice and counter-intelligence investigation against Trump, the day after Trump fired the-FBI Director James Comey in May 2017.

McCabe, who was ultimately dismissed for allegedly lying to investigators about his contacts with reporters, had been tapped to serve as Comey’s interim replacement.

Trump had previously asked Barr to join the legal team defending him in the Russia investigation. Barr declined, telling lawmakers, "I didn’t want to stick my head into that meat grinder."

Now Barr takes on that case and considerably more.

"You seem like a rational person," Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., told Barr during his confirmation hearing, then rattled through the criticisms Trump has heaped on federal law enforcement. "Why do you want this job?"

"Well, because I love the department and all its components including the FBI," Barr replied. "I think they're critical institutions that are essential to preserving the rule of law, which is the the heartbeat of this country."

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More: What you need to know about Trump's attorney general nominee, William Barr</s>The Senate voted 54-45 on Thursday to confirm William Barr as attorney general, returning him to a post he first occupied in the administration of President George H.W. Bush.

Barr was scheduled to be sworn in at the White House on Thursday afternoon by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

Barr's confirmation followed an earlier vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee to advance him after a committee hearing in which members pressed him about the Russia investigation.

Republicans, including the panel's chairman, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., say they're satisfied that Barr will not interfere with special counsel Robert Mueller.

They have accepted his commitments about making public whatever Mueller issues when his work is complete, so long as it is consistent with the law or regulations.

Democrats worry that Barr might be a spy for President Trump at the Justice Department and they say that Barr hasn't promised unconditionally that he'll release a report by Mueller if the special counsel's office completes one.

Mueller is investigating whether Trump's campaign conspired with the Russians who attacked the 2016 presidential election. Trump and his aides say there was no collusion and that they've done nothing wrong.

The outcome of Thursday's vote on Barr had been expected; Republicans control a majority in the chamber and a few Democrats also had spoken generally in support of him.

Alabama Sen. Doug Jones had said definitively before the fact that he would vote for Barr, and he was as good as his word. Democrats Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia also voted for Barr.

The confirmation now starts a countdown clock for a full change of leadership at the Justice Department. Barr is to replace Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, whose next role is as yet unclear, and Barr also is expected to bring on a new deputy attorney general.

The current deputy, Rod Rosenstein, is expected to stay on for some time as part of a transition period while Barr gets acclimated, but the Justice Department has said there wasn't a solid timetable for the nomination of a new deputy or the departure of Rosenstein.

Barr is the second of two people to serve twice as attorney general, the Justice Department said; the first was John Crittenden, who served in 1841 and then again from 1850 to 1853, first under President William Henry Harrison and then in the administration of President Millard Fillmore.</s>WASHINGTON – The Senate has confirmed William Barr as attorney general, placing the veteran government official and lawyer atop the Justice Department as special counsel Robert Mueller investigates Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The Senate voted 54-45 to confirm Barr, who previously served as attorney general from 1991 to 1993. Barr will succeed Jeff Sessions, who was pushed out by President Donald Trump last year. The president was angry with Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation.

As the country’s chief law enforcement officer, Barr will oversee the remaining work in Mueller’s investigation of potential coordination between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign.

Democrats largely voted against Barr. They said they were concerned about his non-committal stance on making Mueller’s report public.</s>William Barr was confirmed Thursday by the Senate to serve as President Trump’s next attorney general, sending him to lead a Justice Department whose past officials have come under sharp criticism from the president over the ongoing Russia investigation.

Several Democrats joined nearly all the Republicans in confirming Barr, 68, a longtime lawyer who served as attorney general from 1991 to 1993 under the late President George H.W. Bush. He was confirmed 54 to 45.

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Three Democrats, Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, Alabama Sen. Doug Jones and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, voted to confirm Barr. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was the lone GOP nay.

Barr will be sworn in Thursday afternoon in the Oval Office at the White House. Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the oath of office.

Barr becomes the second full-fledged attorney general of the Trump administration: the president, upset over his recusal in the Russia investigation, fired former Attorney General Jeff Sessions from running the Justice Department the day after the 2018 midterm elections. Matthew Whitaker has served as acting attorney general during the vacancy.

“A major victory for justice and the rule of law in America: the Senate just confirmed President @realDonaldTrump’s outstanding nominee William Barr as Attorney General,” tweeted White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.

Barr’s confirmation came the same day former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who was fired by the president last year, detailed the central role he played in the bureau’s Russia probe and the eventual appointment of a special counsel — while describing Justice Department meetings where officials discussed ousting the president.

Trump fired back that McCabe is a “disgrace to the FBI and a disgrace to our Country.”

Barr’s Senate confirmation hearings ended last month with little uproar. But even so, some Democrats charged that Barr had indicated he would exploit legal “loopholes” to hide Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report from the public and resist subpoenas against the White House.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., on Thursday said he would vote against Barr’s nomination because he has “not committed to making special counsel findings public and not committed to public testimony from Mueller.”

Democrats and many Republicans have said they believe that Mueller’s final report should be fully released. Barr has said that he will be as transparent as possible under Justice Department regulations, noting that regulations call for the report to be confidential, requiring only that the report explains the decisions to pursue or to decline prosecutions, which could be as simple as a short list, or a report of hundreds of pages.

“I don’t know what—at the end of the day, what will be releasable. I don’t know what Bob Mueller is writing,” Barr said at his hearing last month.

After his confirmation hearing last month, Barr disclosed that he had discussed Mueller’s investigation with Vice President Pence, but insisted that he neither provided legal advice to the White House nor received any confidential information from Pence. Barr also defended a memo he sent to the Justice Department last year that was critical of the Russia probe, explaining that it was narrow in scope and based on potentially incomplete information.

Barr, though, said “it is vitally important” that Mueller be able to complete his Russia investigation.

“I believe it is in the best interest of everyone—the President, Congress, and most importantly, the American people—that this matter be resolved by allowing the Special Counsel to complete his work,” Barr said. “The country needs a credible resolution of these issues. If confirmed, I will not permit partisan politics, personal interests, or any other improper consideration to interfere with this or any other investigation.”

He added: “I can assure that, where judgments are to be made by me, I will make those judgments based solely on the law and will let no personal, political, or other improper interests influence my decision.”

Barr also maintained that he has known Mueller for decades, respects him, and believes he should be allowed to complete his work.

“I have the utmost respect for Bob and his distinguished record of public service,” Barr said. “When he was named special counsel, I said that his selection was ‘good news’ and that, knowing him, I had confidence he would handle the matter properly. I still have that confidence today.”

Barr also told senators that Trump did not seek any assurances or promises before nominating him. Trump has decried the Russia probe as a “witch hunt,” but Barr defended Mueller’s work.

“I don’t believe Mr. Mueller would be involved in a witch hunt,” Barr said at his hearing.

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Trump had complained that Sessions, throughout his tenure as attorney general, was weak, and did not protect him from the Russia investigation. Sessions recused himself early on in the investigation, prior to Mueller’s appointment, due to his involvement with the Trump campaign in 2016.

In turn, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein took on oversight of the investigation and tapped Mueller as special counsel. Rosenstein is expected to leave his post at the Justice Department in the coming weeks.

Barr, though, has extensive experience in law enforcement, even beyond holding the post as attorney general under the Bush Sr. administration. Barr served as deputy attorney general and assistant attorney general overseeing the Office of Legal Counsel during that administration, covering work ranging from combatting violent crime to investigating the Pan Am 103 bombing. Barr also coordinated counter-terror activities during the first Gulf War, according to his biography.

Prior to joining the Justice Department, Barr worked with the White House Domestic Policy staff for a year under then-President Ronald Reagan. In the 1970s, Barr worked in the Central Intelligence Agency as an analyst and assistant legislative counsel. While he worked at the CIA, he studied law at George Washington University.

Fox News’ Jake Gibson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The U.S. Senate votes to confirm Trump nominee William Barr as United States Attorney General with a vote of 54–45.