Things got pretty tight in the United States Senate on Wednesday. By a narrow vote of 51-49, the United States Senate confirmed Vanita Gupta as the next United States Associate Attorney General.
Gupta’s confirmation vote fell largely along party lines. Had the vote landed at a 50-50 tie, Vice President Kamala Harris would have delivered the tie-breaking vote. However, Sen. Lisa Murkowski broke with the Republican Party and voted to confirm Gupta.
“Your record is an ideologue. There’s a role in our democratic and political process for ideologues, people who are extreme, radical advocates. That role, I believe, is not being the No. 3 lawyer at the Department of Justice in charge of the impartial and fair administration of justice,” Republican Sen. Ted Cruz told Gupta before she was confirmed.
“We need people like her, who can communicate effectively with law enforcement and civil rights groups and resolve our differences, more at this moment in history than ever,” Sen. Dick Durbin of the Democratic Party fired back.
Gupta will hold the third-highest position in the Department of Justice. In this role, Gupta will oversee Department of Justice efforts involving civil litigation and law enforcement issues. Her first order of business will likely be the department’s investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department.
Following the conviction of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that he would launch an investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department. The DOJ will look into instances in which excessive force has been used and any discriminatory practices that officers may engage in.
