The Alabama Republican appears headed toward confirmation by a nearly... (Associated Press) 
 
 Attorney General-designate, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., leaves his office on Capitol Hill in Washington early Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017. The Alabama Republican appears headed toward confirmation by a nearly party-line vote after Democrats harshly criticized him for being too close to Trump, too harsh... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Sen. Jeff Sessions to be attorney general in the Trump administration despite fierce Democratic opposition to the Alabama Republican over his record on civil rights and immigration. "Any attorney general must be able to stand firm for the rule of law even against the powerful executive that nominated him or her. Republicans say Sessions has demonstrated over a long career in public service — and two decades in the Senate — that he possesses integrity, honesty and is committed to justice. Shortly before the vote, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took to the Senate floor to sing the praises of Sessions, after Democrats spent hours criticizing him. The 52-47 vote was mostly along party lines, though one Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin, joined the Republicans to back their Alabama colleague. Bentley has named six finalists for the Senate appointment, including state Attorney General Luther Strange and GOP Rep. Robert Aderholt. Democrats not done yet on nominees 
 
 Democrats are expected to repeat the same 30-hour debate plan for Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Tom Price and could easily drag the fight over Treasury pick Steven Mnuchin into the weekend. "If I were a prosecutor, I'd say this case has real potential," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Wednesday. Epitomizing the sharp-edged partisanship surrounding confirmation of Trump's Cabinet nominees, Sen. Elizabeth Warren was given a rare rebuke Tuesday evening for quoting Coretta Scott King, widow of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., in her 1986 criticism of Sessions. "'Anyone who has used the power of his office as United States Attorney to intimidate and chill the free exercise of the ballot by citizens should not be elevated to our courts,'" Warren read from King's letter. McConnell accused Warren of impugning Sessions on the Senate floor -- a violation of Senate rules -- and after a series of procedural votes, she was forced to sit down and stop debating.
– The Senate confirmed Jeff Sessions as US Attorney General in a vote Wednesday night, Mediaite reports. Democrats put up what fight they could with late-night sessions on Monday and Tuesday—CNN reports they battled Sessions' confirmation for 30 hours on the Senate floor—but in the end it wasn't enough to block his confirmation. The vote, largely split along party lines, was 52-47, according to the AP. Every Republican senator voted for Sessions; Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia was the only Democrat to vote for him. Democrats attacked Sessions, one of President Trump's earliest backers, on his record on civil rights and immigration, arguing he wouldn't work to protect the voting rights of minorities, the rights of LGBT Americans, or the right of women to an abortion. Sessions has also been accused of being a racist, including in a 1986 letter by Coretta Scott King read by multiple Democrats during the lead-up to the vote. Shortly before Sessions was confirmed, Mitch McConnell called the senator from Alabama a "likable guy" and a "true Southern gentleman." A replacement for Sessions in the Senate is expected to be named as early as Thursday.