Senate confirms DOJ nominee Kristen Clarke with just one Republican vote

The Senate confirmed Kristen Clarke as the first Black woman to run the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division in a 51-48 vote Tuesday afternoon.

Clarke will now serve as assistant attorney general for civil rights.  Clarke’s nomination was voted out of committee in a split 11-11 tie vote that ran down partisan lines.  Executive nominees like Clarke can be confirmed by a simple majority vote. The Senate invoked cloture in a 51-48 vote earlier Tuesday to end debate and move to a final vote later in the afternoon.