Advertise:   ads@blueearthmarketing.com   712.224.5420

Politics
Senate confirms Gonzales as Attorney General


The Senate voted 60 to 36 on Thursday to confirm former White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales as U.S. Attorney General.

The vote was one of the closest in history for an attorney general nominee. Gonzales received the support of just 6 Democrats, fewer than the 8 Democrats who voted for John Ashcroft back in 2001.

Democrats criticized Gonzales for his role in shaping the Bush administration's legal policies in the war on terror. They said he helped provide the rational to torture terrorist detainees.

As head of the Department of Justice, Gonzales will oversee several key offices and divisions dealing with Indian affairs. One of the most significant is the Office of Solicitor General, which decides the cases to take to the U.S. Supreme Court and oversees legal strategy for cases in courts throughout the nation.

DOJ's civil division and environmental division handle dozens of Indian lawsuits, most notably the Cobell case and other trust mismanagement lawsuits.

Get the Story:
Divided Senate Confirms Gonzales (The Washington Post 2/4)
pwpwd
Gonzales Is Confirmed in a Closer Vote Than Expected (The New York Times 2/4)
pwnyt

Related Stories:
Democrats line up against Attorney General pick (02/02)
Senate confirms Rice as secretary of state (01/27)
Senate confirms Agriculture, Education nominees (1/21)
Democrats delay votes on two Bush nominees (1/20)
State, HHS nominees go before Senate committees (1/19)
Gonzales to go before Senate Judiciary Committee (1/6)
Bush picks Leavitt for Health and Human Services (12/14)
Bush makes big Cabinet shuffle for second term (12/14)
Norton to stay at Interior for second term (12/10)
Treasury Secretary Snow to stay in Bush Cabinet (12/9)
Griles departs from Interior after rocky tenure (12/8)
Thompson resigns from Health and Human Services (12/6)
Griles blames controversies on Bush opponents (12/8)
Bush taps ex-NYPD official for Homeland Security (12/3)
Ridge resigns as Homeland Security Secretary (12/1)
Bush taps Kellogg executive as Commerce Secretary (11/30)
Bush nominates another White House adviser (11/18)
Bush to nominate Rice as Secretary of State (11/16)
Powell among four Cabinet departures pending (11/15)
Hispanic lawyer tapped as attorney general (11/11)
Hispanic lawyer likely successor to Ashcroft (11/10)