US Senate Panel Approves Deputy Attorney General Nominee Monaco

Nominee to be Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on March 9, 2021. (Joshua Roberts/File/Reuters)

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday overwhelmingly approved by a voice vote President Joe Biden’s nominee to serve as deputy attorney general, Lisa Monaco, paving the way for her to receive a confirmation vote on the Senate floor.

At the same time, however, Republicans signaled they would not be willing to support Biden’s associate attorney general nominee Vanita Gupta.

Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights, testifies during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled "Police Use of Force and Community Relations" in Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, on June 16, 2020. (Tom Williams/File/Pool via Reuters)

“Her public record is too extreme and her testimony hasn’t helped me contextualize it in any meaningful way,” Ranking Republican Charles Grassley said on Thursday.

Grassley called Monaco a “consummate professional.”

Debate on Gupta’s record is expected to continue before the panel proceeds to vote on her nomination.

By Sarah N. Lynch