Vanita Gupta has been confirmed to be Associate Attorney General by a mostly party-line vote. She remains one of the most controversial nominations made by the Biden Administration so far. Presidents are entitled to nominate qualified individuals to fill political positions, but as Republican Leader Mitch McConnell explained on the Senate floor earlier today, Gupta falls outside of the mainstream:

After the Senate Judiciary Committee was tied on whether to advance Vanita Gupta's nomination as Associate Attorney General last month, Senate Democrats have begun the process to advance Gupta's nomination to the floor despite remaining questions about her record in several key areas including her position on defunding the police and her relationship with the drug company Aventor. Senator Cornyn has warned that she may be the Biden Administration's "most dangerous" nominee to the Department of Justice.

Earlier today, the Senate Judiciary Committee considered the controversial nomination of Vanita Gupta to be associate attorney general. The vote on Gupta's nomination ended in a tie. As reported by CNN:

The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to advance Vanita Gupta's nomination as associate attorney general to the full Senate next week. Hopefully some Senate Judiciary Democrats will reconsider their support.  As Senator John Cornyn points out, Gupta could be the Biden Administration's "most dangerous" nominee to the Department of Justice:

"I still am very concerned about Ms. Gupta's nomination," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said, citing her responses to the committee's questions. "She has avoided answering questions, or as in the case of her testimony here in front of the committee, she's completely, 180 degrees -- taken a 180-degrees position different from what she has on a previous occasion as recently as last summer when we had her before the committee [to] testify on police reform."

Biden Administration Attorney General Nominee Merrick Garland has pledged not to follow in the footsteps of the Obama-Biden Administration Attorneys General and act as a “wingman” for the President.  He will almost certainly be confirmed with bipartisan support.

However, the same cannot be said about Associate Attorney General Nominee Vanita Gupta and Civil Rights Division nominee Kristin Clarke.  Arguably, Judge Garland’s toughest moment in the hearing yesterday came when “Garland appeared to lose his composure as he defended Gupta and Clarke.”

The nomination of D.C. Circuit Judge Merrick Garland to be U.S. Attorney General has been hailed as a moderate pick for the incoming Biden Administration. However, as Hans von Spakovsky pointed out in a Fox News op-ed this past weekend, Garland may have his work cut out for him maintaining the nonpartisan ideals of the Department considering the other individuals that Joe Biden intends to nominate to join him at the Department — specifically, Vanita Gupta and Kristen Clarke.