Jeff Sessions Confirmed By Senate As Attorney General

The Senate voted 52-47 in favor of confirming Sen. Jeff Sessions as attorney general Wednesday night, making him head of the Justice Department. Sessions himself abstained from voting.

Joe Manchin of West Virginia was the one Democrat to vote affirmatively to confirm the nominee.

After the vote, the hall broke into applause for Sessions' successful appointment.

The Senate nearly always votes to confirm sitting senators when they're nominated for Cabinet positions.

Now that Sessions has been appointed to the Cabinet, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley will be able to appoint his successor in the Senate — a possibility that is already wrapped up in a sex tape scandal.

A cloud hung over the confirmation debate Wednesday after Sen. Elizabeth Warren was censured Tuesday night and prevented from speaking further when she read from a letter by Coretta Scott King. The reading of the letter, which accuses Sessions of deliberately suppressing black voting rights, was determined by Senate leadership to violate a rarely invoked rule against impugning the motives of a senator.

In an ironic twist, the act of preventing Warren from speaking likely drew much more attention to her words than would otherwise have been paid.

Many Democrats argued that Sessions' history on civil rights disqualifies him to head the Justice Department. Republicans argued that Sessions' reputation has been unfairly maligned.

"I have serious concerns about Senator Sessions' opposition to landmark legislation in 2013 that protects victims of domestic violence, including protections I advocated for Native American women," Sen. Heidi Heitkamp. a Democrat from North Dakota, said in a statement. "He has pushed back against voting rights throughout his career."

She continued: "I'm worried he will not be an independent voice from the president as the job requires, and will instead defend all pieces of the president's agenda without question — whether constitutional or not."

Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, defended his colleague on the Senate floor.

"We've come such a long way in this country, and it's been because of the Voting Rights Act," Cornyn said, noting that Sessions voted for the reauthorization of the act in 2006. "It's really sad to see interest groups vilifying him."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell agreed, saying, "It’s been tough to watch all this good man has been put through in recent weeks."

Sen. Ed Markey, also from Massachusetts, defended Warren on the Senate floor. "The American people deserve to hear the words of Coretta Scott King," he said, criticizing McConnell for invoking an "arcane" rule to silence Warren.

"We must insist that our top law enforcement officer upholds the law for all Americans," he added.

Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, spoke in defense of Sessions hours before the vote was scheduled, listing cases in which his colleague used the law to fight the KKK.

"As I reflect on the brave men and women who have shaped this country," he said, "who have fought for my freedom for me to participate freely in this republic, the greatest experiment in self-governing the world has ever known, we have an obligation to judge a man not by the color of his skin, nor by the state of his birth, but by the story his life tells and content of his character."

He concluded: "Jeff Sessions has earned my support."

The vote is scheduled for 6:50 p.m. Eastern. Watch a live stream of the Senate proceedings here or watch below:

Photo credit: Ryan Reilly