Senate Confirms Two Nominees for Justice Dept.
The Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Clinton’s nominees for two top Justice Department jobs.
By a unanimous voice vote, senators approved the nominations of Jamie S. Gorelick as deputy attorney general and Deval Patrick as assistant attorney general heading the civil rights division.
Gorelick will replace Philip B. Heymann, who resigned in January after a dispute with Atty. Gen. Janet Reno. Gorelick has been general counsel for the Defense Department.
Patrick fills the post Clinton originally sought for C. Lani Guinier. He withdrew her nomination after conservatives attacked her views on the Voting Rights Act.
Patrick is a partner in a Boston law firm. He has said he would use the civil rights job as a “bully pulpit” to speak out against bigotry and hate crimes.
Clinton has not named a successor to Associate Atty. Gen. Webster Hubbell, the department’s No. 3 official. Hubbell resigned last week amid a dispute over his billings at the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock, Ark., where he worked with First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.
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