That Was Quick!

Mukasey Sworn In; Defense Bill Goes to Bush
Michael B. Mukasey, 66, took the oath of office less than 24 hours after the Senate confirmed him as the 81st Attorney General of the United States on a 53-40 vote. In what appears to be a political quid pro quo, the Senate then turned around and passed a defense bill (voice vote - no record) containing no funding for the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Six Democrats -- Sens. Evan Bayh (IN), Tom Carper (DE), Dianne Feinstein (CA), Mary Landrieu (LA), Ben Nelson (NE) and Charles Schumer (NY) -- joined Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and 46 47 Republicans in voting for the Mukasey confirmation.

Not voting: five presidential candidates, Sens. Joe Biden (D-DE), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Barack Obama (D-IL) John McCain (R-AZ).

Others not voting, Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN).

TPM Muckraker reports scuttlebutt: "Harry Reid allowed a vote on Mukasey because in exchange the Republican leadership agreed to allow a vote on the big Defense Appropriations Bill."

The Senate passed the fiscal 2008 military bill (HR 3222) after acting on Mukasey. The earlier House vote was 400-15; while repugnant, the bill's 2000+ earmarks are only half sum of those in the fiscal 2007 legislation. Democrats expect the President to veto the bill.

Mukasey will begin work full time on Tuesday; he is being briefed this weekend. [Monday is a holiday.]

A bit about his record: On the "War on Terror," Mukasey allowed the federal government to hold U.S. citizen Jose Padilla as an enemy combatant without charging him with a crime. However, he said Padilla had a right to meet with a lawyer. President Reagan appointed Mukasey, an Orthodox Jew, to the bench (Southern District of NY) in 1988; from 2000 until his retirement in 2006, he served as chief justice. Under Presidents Nixon and Ford (1972-1976), he served as an assistant U.S. attorney. (White House Fact Sheet)