Vice President Kamala Harris was on hand in case she was needed for a possible 50-50 tie on the procedural vote for Gupta’s nomination Wednesday, but Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Republican from Alaska, broke with her Republican colleagues and joined all Democratic senators to advance the nomination 51-49.
Republicans were nearly entirely unified in their opposition to Gupta, who led the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division under the Obama administration. They have argued Gupta was a “radical” nominee, and have accused her of changing her positions on issues like drug legalization…
