US Senate confirms Vanita Gupta to third top job at justice department

A divided US Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm Vanita Gupta as the first woman of color to serve in the No. 3 job at the Justice Department, a role at the forefront of the department’s renewed efforts to combat systemic racism in policing.

Team Newsable

Washington D.C., First Published Apr 22, 2021, 11:37 AM IST | Last Updated Apr 22, 2021, 11:37 AM IST

The Senate voted to confirm Vanita Gupta as associate attorney general Wednesday, making her the first civil rights lawyer or woman of colour to serve as the Justice Department’s No. 3 official.

Gupta won confirmation as President Joe Biden's associate attorney general in a final vote of 51-49. Only one Republican - Lisa Murkowski of Alaska - voted to confirm her, saying she felt Gupta was personally committed to combating injustice.

“I was impressed not only with her passion that she carries but the work that she performs,” Murkowski said on the Senate floor. She added that, while some of Gupta’s previous public statements troubled her, she would “give the benefit of the doubt to a woman who I believe has demonstrated through her professional career to be committed to matters of political justice.”

Vice President Kamala Harris was present in the Senate to cast her vote in case of a tie. The two parties have 50 members each in the 100-seat United States Senate.

Congratulations to Vanita Gupta on making history as the first woman of colour to serve as associate attorney general. Now, I urge the Senate to confirm Kristen Clarke. Both are eminently qualified, highly respected lawyers who are dedicated to advancing racial equity and justice, President Joe Biden said.

Gupta will oversee the department’s vast civil division, which is tasked with defending the Biden administration in court, as well as its antitrust, tax, and environment and natural resources divisions. She will also oversee the Civil Rights Division, , which she once led, at a time when the Biden administration has vowed to use every tool at its disposal to combat systemic racism.

Once Gupta is sworn in this week, the Justice Department’s top three officials will be in place. Lisa O. Monaco was sworn in Wednesday as deputy attorney general, a day after the Senate confirmed her.

Gupta served as acting assistant attorney general of the Civil Rights Division during the Obama administration, during which time she oversaw high-profile investigations into systemic abuses by police departments in Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri.

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