senators who voted for attorney general william barr

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When did Barr become Attorney General?

In 1989, Barr served as the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel as an assistant attorney general. In April 1989, he became the deputy attorney general for the Justice Department. He then served as U.S. attorney general from 1991 to 1993 under President George H.W. Bush.

When was Barr nominated?

President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Barr to the position on December 7, 2018, and he was formally nominated on January 3, 2019.

What did Barr say during his confirmation hearing?

In his opening statement, Barr said that, if confirmed, he would "enforce the law evenhandedly and with integrity," as he said during his confirmation hearing for attorney general in the George H.W. Bush administration. He added, "We live in time when the country is deeply divided.

What are the duties of an attorney general?

The U.S. attorney general is responsible for the following: 1 Representing "the United States in legal matters"; 2 Supervising and directing "the administration and operation of the offices, boards, divisions, and bureaus that comprise the Department"; 3 Furnishing "advice and opinions, formal and informal, on legal matters to the President and the Cabinet and to the heads of the executive departments and agencies of the government, as provided by law"; 4 Making recommendations to the President concerning appointments to federal judicial positions and to positions within the Department, including U.S. Attorneys and U.S. Marshals"; 5 Representing or supervising "the representation of the United States Government in the Supreme Court of the United States and all other courts, foreign and domestic, in which the United States is a party or has an interest as may be deemed appropriate"; and 6 Performing or supervising "the performance of other duties required by statute or Executive Order," according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

What are Barr's priorities?

As attorney general, Barr said that his priorities would be to combat violent crime and predatory violence, enforce and improve immigration laws, and protect the integrity of elections. The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Barr's nomination by a vote of 12-10, along party lines, on February 7, 2019.

What was the job of the Attorney General of the United States?

The U.S. attorney general is responsible for the following: Representing "the Unit ed States in legal matters"; Supervising and directing "the administration and operation of the offices, boards, divisions, ...

When was Barr sworn in?

Trump announced his intent to nominate Barr to the position on December 7, 2018, and he was formally nominated on January 3, 2019. He was confirmed by the Senate on February 14, 2019, by a vote of 54-45 and sworn in on the same day.

Who asked the Justice Department to investigate Barr?

In December 2019, Democratic Senators Ron Wyden and Patrick J. Leahy asked the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility to investigate Barr for approving an illegal surveillance program without legal analysis.

How much did Barr donate to the Republican Party?

Barr donated $55,000 to a political action committee that backed Jeb Bush during the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries and $2,700 to Donald Trump during the general election campaign.

How much money did Barr give to the NRSC?

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) financially assists Republicans in their Senate election contests; in the seven years from 2009 to 2016, Barr gave six donations to the NRSC totaling $85,400. In a five-month period from October 2018 to February 2019, Barr donated five times (around $10,000 every month) for a total of $51,000. When Barr started donating more frequently to the NRSC, it was uncertain whether then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions would remain in his job. Barr continued donating even after Sessions resigned, and after Trump nominated Barr for Attorney General. The donations stopped after Barr was confirmed by the Senate as Attorney General. NRSC refunded Barr $30,000 before his confirmation. Previously in 2017, Barr had said he felt "prosecutors who make political contributions are identifying fairly strongly with a political party."

Why did Barr say Hollywood censors its own movies?

In July 2020, Barr condemned large American tech companies, such as Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Apple, and Hollywood studios, accusing them of "kowtowing" to the Chinese Communist Party for the sake of profits. He said that "Hollywood now regularly censors its own movies to appease the Chinese Communist Party, the world's most powerful violator of human rights."

Why does Barr support the death penalty?

Barr supports the death penalty, arguing that it reduces crime. He advocated a Bush-backed bill that would have expanded the types of crime that could be punished by execution. In a 1991 op-ed in The New York Times, Barr argued that death row inmates' ability to challenge their sentences should be limited to avoid cases dragging on for years: "This lack of finality devastates the criminal justice system. It diminishes the deterrent effect of state criminal laws, saps state prosecutorial resources and continually reopens the wounds of victims and survivors."

What was Barr's first tenure?

During his first tenure as AG, media characterized Barr as "a staunch conservative who rarely hesitates to put his hardline views into action". He was described as affable with a dry, self-deprecating wit. The New York Times described the "central theme" of his tenure to be "his contention that violent crime can be reduced only by expanding Federal and state prisons to jail habitual violent offenders". In an effort to prioritize violent crime, Barr reassigned three hundred FBI agents from counterintelligence work to investigations of gang violence. The New York Times called this move "the largest single manpower shift in the bureau's history".

Why did Barr advocate for Guantanamo Bay?

He also advocated the use of Guantanamo Bay to prevent Haitian refugees and HIV infected individuals from claiming asylum in the United States. According to Vox in December 2018, Barr supported an aggressive "law and order" agenda on immigration as Attorney General in the Bush Administration.