Controversial Biden DOJ civil rights nominee takes step closer to confirmation

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday cast an 11-11 tie vote on the nomination of Kristen Clarke to be the assistant attorney general for civil rights, bringing the controversial nominee one step closer to confirmation.

Executive nominees like Clarke can be confirmed by a simple majority vote, meaning that if Democrats get all 50 of their members on board Vice President Harris can break a tie on a final confirmation vote. But moderate Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has not yet made a public commitment on whether he will support Clarke. Whether Manchin or other moderate Democrats spurn Clarke – or whether any moderate Republicans support her – will determine the fate of her nomination in the closely divided Senate. Clarke's nomination was especially controversial because of her prolific Twitter use, where she would often launch broadsides against some senators, including Manchin. Clarke also has a history of controversial writings, including a 2020 Newsweek op-ed headlined: "I Prosecuted Police Killings. Defund the Police—But Be Strategic." Clarke said in a hearing before the Judiciary Committee that she did not actually mean to say police should be defunded in that op-ed.