Barr confirmed by Senate
William Barr, who served as attorney general under President H.W. Bush, gets a second stint at the job.
WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed William P. Barr on Thursday for a second stint as attorney general, handing oversight of the Justice Department — and its ongoing investigation into links between Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and the Trump campaign — to a seasoned Republican legal hand known for his expansive view of presidential power.
Senators expressed hope that the installation of a conventional figure like Barr could return some stability to the Justice Department’s 115,000 employees, after two years of intense battering by President Donald Trump and his allies in Congress. The president lost confidence in his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, early on, and after months of publicly scorning him for recusing himself from overseeing the Russia investigation, Trump installed Sessions’ chief of staff, Matthew G. Whitaker, as a temporary replacement in November.
“Steady leadership at a time we need steady leadership to give a morale boost to the Department of Justice,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. and the Judiciary Committee chairman, said shortly before the vote. “Somebody who will be fair to the president, but also be fair to the rule of law and protect the integrity of the Department of Justice.”
But with special counsel Robert Mueller believed to be finishing his work, Barr’s tenure is likely to be shaped by the same cross currents, and his decisions could have far-reaching consequences for Trump, the presidency and the department for years to come.
Barr assured senators during the confirmation process that he would not allow political interference to sway the department’s work, but under pressure from Democrats, he would make no specific assurances to make Mueller’s findings public, foreshadowing a potentially caustic fight.
Divided over whether to accept his assurances, the Senate voted largely along party lines, 55-45, to confirm Barr. Trump was expected to swear him in at the Oval Office later Thursday.
A handful of senators separated from their parties on the Senate floor. One libertarian-leaning Republican, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted against Barr, citing concerns over his sweeping view of executive power. Three Democrats from conservative or swing states — Sens. Doug Jones of Alabama, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia — supported him.
Barr previously served as attorney general from 1991 to 1993, under President George Bush, before spending the last quarter-century as a corporate lawyer — much of it with the telecommunications company that became Verizon.