The Nation - Mukasey confirmed as attorney general - Despite opposition from Democrats, the Senate votes 53-40 in favor of the retired judge. He is to be sworn in today.
WASHINGTON — The Senate voted Thursday night to confirm the nomination of Michael B. Mukasey as attorney general, despite often emotional opposition from Democrats who said his refusal to disavow a controversial interrogation method made him an unsuitable leader for the U.S. Justice Department.
The vote was 53 to 40, with six Democrats -- including Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California -- and one independent supporting the nominee.
The 66-year-old retired federal judge from New York is expected to be sworn in today as the third attorney general of the Bush presidency. Among the challenges he will face in the next 14 months is the perception that the department was heavily influenced by political considerations under his predecessor, Alberto R. Gonzales.
The late-night vote came after a procession of Democrats took to the Senate floor to denounce Mukasey -- and the Bush administration -- as failing to take a firm stand against the use of torture in questioning terrorism suspects.
Mukasey in particular has come under fire for refusing to say whether he believed that waterboarding -- an interrogation technique simulating drowning that dates to the Spanish Inquisition -- was unlawful.
American interrogators are believed to have resorted to the technique in questioning some high-value terrorism suspects captured after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but the administration has refused to say whether it was ever employed.
Democrats chided the nominee Thursday night for refusing to acknowledge what they said was an obvious and long-standing truth, and they said his reticence raised questions about whether he would act as an independent check on President Bush.
"We need an attorney general to tell this king that he is wrong and that the rule of law will apply," said Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). Harkin said Mukasey "may run a good department" if confirmed but expressed doubt that Mukasey would stand up to Bush.
"There is no question that this time will be remembered as a dark chapter in America's otherwise steady march toward justice," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). "But for now, all we can do is . . . turn the page to a brighter day. What we can do today is reject this nomination."
The margin of confirmation -- narrower than that for either Gonzales or John Ashcroft, Bush's first attorney general -- was hardly the vote of confidence that the White House or even Senate Democrats expected when Bush tapped Mukasey in mid-September to succeed Gonzales. Gonzales and Ashcroft were confirmed with "yes" votes of 60 and 58, respectively.
