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Senate Votes To End Debate On Barr AG Nomination

02.12.19 | 5:41 pm

The Senate on Tuesday voted 55-44 to end debate on William Barr’s attorney general nomination and proceed with a confirmation vote, The New York Times and other outlets reported, moving Barr one step closer to his probable confirmation.

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Matt Shuham is a reporter in TPM’s New York office. Prior to joining TPM, he was associate editor of The National Memo and an editorial intern at Rolling Stone.

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jonney_5 says:

February 12, 2019

Suspect Republicans will try to move quickly. Whitaker proved (unsurprisingly) to be not up to Senate scrutiny.
maximus says:

February 12, 2019

Pegged the meter again, Yertle…
vlharpley says:

February 12, 2019

Who were the Democrats voting for him?
squirreltown says:

February 12, 2019

Is it too much to ask to at least name the Democrats that voted yes?
demosthenes59 says:

February 12, 2019

It was never in any doubt Barr could not win the AG job. He’s iffy, to put it diplomatically, on issues related to presidential authority. His lobbying for the AG job was unseemly, given his excellent reputation.

However, I admit to mixed feelings about Barr. He’s probably the best we’ll see in an AG for the Trump regime. Unless I’m completely wrong about him, I see no reason for Barr to destroy his personal reputation as a complete Trump henchman. Moreover, his friendship with Mueller tells he he won’t fire him.

The only risk from Barr is he either limits the investigation to Trump Russia (which means other DOJ offices can take it over) or asks Mueller to wrapt it up sooner or later.

There is a possible good side. It’s not out of the bounds of reality that Barr will try to restore some of the DOJ’s reputation and commitment to the law.

Anyway, this is my thinking.