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U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., voted against President Barack Obama’s pick to head the U.S. Justice Department’s civil right division. U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., voted for the nomination. Twenty-two votes were cast against Thomas Sanchez, who was confirmed Tuesday. Republicans expressed concern about his links to some immigrant groups and the Department of Justice’s disposal of a voter intimidation case involving New Black Panther Party activists who stood in front of polling places on election day holding nightsticks. Hispanic groups including the National Council of La Raza welcomed Sanchez’s nomination. McCain’s office did not respond to questions regarding his...

On Hunter of Justice, my colleague Nan Hunter provides an updated list of law professors who are or will soon be working in the Obama administration. (H/T Brian Leiter)

The Senate confirmed David Ogden as deputy attorney general this afternoon, by a vote of 65-28, after an often testy debate between Republican and Democratic senators that dipped in and out of discussions of pornography. Mr. Ogden, who had served in the Clinton administration’s Justice Department, also represented Playboy magazine and librarians opposed to congressional mandated software that filtered content from the Internet when he was in private practice. His First Amendment work ignited some opposition, prompting what Senator Arlen Specter, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, termed an “unprecedented” number of phone calls and contacts from citizens against...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) made the following statement regarding his decision to oppose President Obama’s nomination of Eric Holder for U.S. Attorney General: “The Attorney General is our nation’s top law enforcement official, and Americans deserve better than someone who helped pardon terrorists and tax cheats and who is hostile to Second Amendment rights,” said Senator DeMint. As assistant U.S. attorney general during the Clinton Administration, Holder recommended that Marc Rich, one of the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” at the time, receive a presidential pardon. Rich was indicted in 1983 for evading more...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans, who acted like lions in challenging Eric Holder, turned into lambs Wednesday as they joined Democrats in recommending President Barack Obama's choice for attorney general. The Judiciary Committee voted 17-2 to endorse Holder, with two Republicans opposing the nomination — John Cornyn of Texas and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. The Senate could vote as early as Thursday to confirm Holder as the first African-American to lead the Justice Department. . . . . . Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he supports Holder's view that the country needs to interrogate terrorism suspects based on American values....

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican senator Mel Martinez of Florida says he will support Attorney General-nominee Eric Holder, putting him a big step closer to confirmation. Holder met with Martinez morning Friday while the Senate Judiciary Committee held a second day of hearings on his nomination. Martinez said in a statement that he believes Holder understands the unique role of the nation's top law enforcement official and intends to vote to confirm him.