The U.S. Senate has confirmed William Barr as attorney general, placing the veteran government official and lawyer atop the Justice Department as special counsel Robert Mueller investigates Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The Republican-led Senate voted 54-45 to confirm Barr. The vote fell mostly along party lines with the exception of Republican Rand Paul (against), and Democrats Joe Manchin, Doug Jones and Kyrsten Sinema in favour.
Barr previously served as attorney general from 1991 to 1993 in the administration of George H.W. Bush. He will succeed Jeff Sessions, who was pushed out by Donald Trump last year. The president was angry with Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation.
As the country’s chief law enforcement officer, Barr will oversee the remaining work in Mueller’s investigation of potential co-ordination between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign.
Concerns about potential Mueller report
Barr pledged to allow Mueller to complete his work, but Democrats largely voted against the nominee. They said they were concerned about his non-committal stance on making Mueller’s report public.
Some pro-choice Democrats also were concerned about statements he made in the early 1990s that the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion ruling did not have “constitutional underpinnings.”
Trump’s cabinet has seen significant turnover, but Barr said in his testimony he wouldn’t be “bullied” into acting contrary to the law.
Since Sessions was fired, his former chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, a controversial choice, has been serving as acting attorney general.
from Update Trend News http://bit.ly/2UZRPVq
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