• Did the Vote Pass? Yes
  • Voted Yea 51
  • Voted Nay 49
  • Didn't Vote 0
  • Voted Present 0
Unlike Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, Vanita Gupta did not receive bipartisan support in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Vanita Gupta has an extremely political record that will present challenges within the Department of Justice. On numerous occasions, Vanita Gupta has attacked school choice, conservative judicial nominees, and the American rule of law.

While Vanita Gupta led the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division under the Obama administration, she launched an attack against a Louisiana school choice program that supported African American children and their families. During her confirmation hearing, Senator Cruz (R-TX) cogently showcased Ms. Gupta’s anti-school choice effort by stating:

“Your tenure at the Department of Justice demonstrated a radical hostility to school choice, such as [when] the Department of Justice intervened in a case trying to kill a Louisiana school choice program there, even though many African American parents strongly supported the program.

The Black Alliance for Educational Options was fighting on the other side. The federal court at issue there specifically reprimanded the Department of Justice under your leadership for “ineffective lawyering”—that’s a quote—and for attempting to “circumvent the ordinary litigation process in order to regulate the school choice program without any legal judgment against the state.”

Additionally, Vanita Gupta viciously and unjustly attacked many of President Trump’s Article 3 nominees. Particularly, she sought to discredit and launch baseless attacks against Supreme Court nominees Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. Vanita Gupta said that Justice Gorsuch is “dangerous and consequential;” Ms. Gupta said she couldn’t “underscore how dangerous it will be to have Judge Brett Kavanaugh on the Court, a man who harbors such bias, rage, fury, and is so easily unhinged.” Additionally, she called Amy Coney Barrett’s constitutional confirmation process “illegitimate.”

Her vicious partisan record should automatically disqualify her from holding a top post at the Department of Justice. Over the past decade, we have seen the Department of Justice increase its political appetite to attack conservatives and those who oppose any of its efforts that infringed on Americans’ civil liberties. Should Vanita Gupta be confirmed, the politicization of the Department of Justice will surely continue.

Legislator's Votes

Official's Name Party District Voted

Tammy Baldwin

Democrat

WI

Yea

Michael Bennet

Democrat

CO

Yea

Dick Blumenthal

Democrat

CT

Yea

Cory Booker

Democrat

NJ

Yea

Sherrod Brown

Democrat

OH

Yea

Maria Cantwell

Democrat

WA

Yea

Ben Cardin

Democrat

MD

Yea

Tom Carper

Democrat

DE

Yea

Bob Casey

Democrat

PA

Yea

Chris Coons

Democrat

DE

Yea

Catherine Cortez Masto

Democrat

NV

Yea

Tammy Duckworth

Democrat

IL

Yea

Dick Durbin

Democrat

IL

Yea

Dianne Feinstein

Democrat

CA

Yea

Kirsten Gillibrand

Democrat

NY

Yea

Maggie Hassan

Democrat

NH

Yea

Martin Heinrich

Democrat

NM

Yea

John Hickenlooper

Democrat

CO

Yea

Mazie Hirono

Democrat

HI

Yea

Tim Kaine

Democrat

VA

Yea

Mark Kelly

Democrat

AZ

Yea

Angus King

Independent

ME

Yea

Amy Klobuchar

Democrat

MN

Yea

Patrick Leahy

Democrat

Yea

Ben Luján

Democrat

NM

Yea

Joe Manchin

Democrat

WV

Yea

Ed Markey

Democrat

MA

Yea

Bob Menendez

Democrat

NJ

Yea

Jeff Merkley

Democrat

OR

Yea

Lisa Murkowski

Republican

AK

Yea

Chris Murphy

Democrat

CT

Yea

Patty Murray

Democrat

WA

Yea

Jon Ossoff

Democrat

GA

Yea

Alex Padilla

Democrat

CA

Yea

Gary Peters

Democrat

MI

Yea

Jack Reed

Democrat

RI

Yea

Jacky Rosen

Democrat

NV

Yea

Bernie Sanders

Independent

VT

Yea

Brian Schatz

Democrat

HI

Yea

Chuck Schumer

Democrat

NY

Yea

Jeanne Shaheen

Democrat

NH

Yea

Kyrsten Sinema

Independent

AZ

Yea

Tina Smith

Democrat

MN

Yea

Debbie Stabenow

Democrat

MI

Yea

Jon Tester

Democrat

MT

Yea

Chris Van Hollen

Democrat

MD

Yea

Mark Warner

Democrat

VA

Yea

Raphael Warnock

Democrat

GA

Yea

Elizabeth Warren

Democrat

MA

Yea

Sheldon Whitehouse

Democrat

RI

Yea

Ron Wyden

Democrat

OR

Yea

John Barrasso

Republican

WY

Nay

Marsha Blackburn

Republican

TN

Nay

Roy Blunt

Republican

MO

Nay

John Boozman

Republican

AR

Nay

Mike Braun

Republican

IN

Nay

Richard Burr

Republican

Nay

Shelley Capito

Republican

WV

Nay

Bill Cassidy

Republican

LA

Nay

Susan Collins

Republican

ME

Nay

John Cornyn

Republican

TX

Nay

Tom Cotton

Republican

AR

Nay

Kevin Cramer

Republican

ND

Nay

Mike Crapo

Republican

ID

Nay

Ted Cruz

Republican

TX

Nay

Steve Daines

Republican

MT

Nay

Joni Ernst

Republican

IA

Nay

Deb Fischer

Republican

NE

Nay

Lindsey Graham

Republican

SC

Nay

Chuck Grassley

Republican

IA

Nay

Bill Hagerty

Republican

TN

Nay

Josh Hawley

Republican

MO

Nay

John Hoeven

Republican

ND

Nay

Cindy Hyde-Smith

Republican

MS

Nay

Jim Inhofe

Republican

OK

Nay

Ron Johnson

Republican

WI

Nay

John Kennedy

Republican

LA

Nay

James Lankford

Republican

OK

Nay

Mike Lee

Republican

UT

Nay

Cynthia Lummis

Republican

WY

Nay

Roger Marshall

Republican

KS

Nay

Mitch McConnell

Republican

KY

Nay

Jerry Moran

Republican

KS

Nay

Rand Paul

Republican

KY

Nay

Rob Portman

Republican

OH

Nay

Jim Risch

Republican

ID

Nay

Mitt Romney

Republican

UT

Nay

Mike Rounds

Republican

SD

Nay

Marco Rubio

Republican

FL

Nay

Ben Sasse

Republican

NE

Nay

Tim Scott

Republican

SC

Nay

Rick Scott

Republican

FL

Nay

Richard Shelby

Republican

AL

Nay

Dan Sullivan

Republican

AK

Nay

John Thune

Republican

SD

Nay

Thom Tillis

Republican

NC

Nay

Pat Toomey

Republican

PA

Nay

Tommy Tuberville

Republican

AL

Nay

Roger Wicker

Republican

MS

Nay

Todd Young

Republican

IN

Nay