The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Sen. Jeff Sessions to be attorney general in the Trump administration after fierce Democratic opposition to the Alabama Republican.
The 52–47 nearly party-line vote capped weeks of divisive battles over Sessions, an early supporter of President Donald Trump and one of the Senate’s most conservative lawmakers.
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.
“He’s honest. He’s fair. He’s been a friend to many of us, on both sides of the aisle,” Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said. “It’s been tough to watch all this good man has been put through in recent weeks. This is a well-qualified colleague with a deep reverence for the law. He believes strongly in the equal application of it to everyone.”
Sessions won unanimous backing from Senate Republicans, but picked up the support of just one Democrat, Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
