Washington • William Barr was confirmed Thursday as the U.S. attorney general, putting him in command of the Justice Department at one of the most politically charged moments in its history.
Senators voted 54 to 45, mostly along party lines, to confirm Barr, who will now supervise special counsel Robert Mueller III’s inquiry into whether Donald Trump’s campaign conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 election.
Among Barr’s first major decisions will be what to tell the public about the results of that investigation - a choice that will force the attorney general to balance the public’s insatiable appetite for information, Justice Department policies that favor secrecy and the desires of president unlikely to be satisfied with anything but total exoneration.