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In a near-party line vote of 52 to 47, former Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions was confirmed as United States Attorney General.

By Alex Wong/Getty.

Following an unusually acrimoniousand at times, racially charged debateAlabama Senator Jeff Sessions was confirmed Wednesday night as United States Attorney General in a near party-line vote. With only one Democratic senator, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, breaking ranks to vote for his colleague, and the procedural silencing of Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren the day before, Sessionss nomination united a party that, until recently, was divided over how to respond to the presidency of Donald Trump.

After his unexpected victory over Hillary Clinton in November, it remained an open question whether Democrats would seek to work with Trump, whose populist pledges on the campaign trail left some on the left optimistic that they might find areas of agreement with the new president. Few made their willingness to work with the New York real estate mogul more apparent early on than Chuck Schumer. I hope on the promises he's made to blue-collar America on trade, on carried interest, on infrastructure, that he'll stick with them and work with us, even if it means breaking with the Republicans who have always opposed these things, the Senate minority leader said on NBCs Meet the Press less than two weeks after the election. Bernie Sanders, too, expressed fleeting openness to working with Trump, particularly on initiatives aimed at helping the declining middle class. To the degree that Mr. Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him, the Vermont senator said the day after Clintons loss.

But since Trumps inauguration last month, any willingness Democrats once had to cooperate with the new administration has been displaced by the partys open hostility toward the fledgling administration. Amid a flurry of controversial executive ordersnotably, a travel ban on immigrants from seven majority-Muslim nations that sparked a massive, grassroots protest movement on the leftSenate Democrats focused their efforts on presenting a united front in opposition to a number of the presidents most contentious Cabinet nominees. Chief among the targets of Democrats ire: Betsy DeVos, Trumps pick to lead the Department of Education, and Sessions.

Backed by a legion of teachers unions, civil rights organizations, and parent associations, Senate Democrats launched a 24-hour debate earlier this week, during which they lambasted DeVos and painted the billionaire philanthropist as an enemy of the public school system. Two RepublicansSusan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaskavoted against DeVos, forcing Vice President Mike Pence to cast a historic tie-breaking vote in her favor. And while Democrats failed to derail the nomination, they certainly managed to send a unified message to the new administration. The fact that we had to get to the point where the vice president had to be pulled in to overcome the Democrats historic and partisan logjam of the presidents qualified nominee, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said during Tuesdays daily press briefing, is another glaring reminder of the unprecedented obstruction that Senate Democrats have engaged in throughout this process.

The partys opposition to Sessions, a longtime Senate colleague, sent an even stronger message to Trump that Democrats are prepared to hold the party line in opposition. Denied a federal judgeship during the Reagan administration over allegations of past racist comments, Senate Democrats had argued for months that Sessions, an early Trump supporter, is unfit to lead the Justice Department. Georgia Congressman and civil-rights icon John Lewis and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker testified against Sessions during his confirmation hearingthe latter breaking with Senate tradition to do so.

But the partisan divide over Sessions reached a fever pitch late Tuesday when Warren was silenced while reading a letter written by Coretta Scott King, in opposition to Sessions 1986 judicial nomination, that criticized the then U.S. attorney of using the awesome power of his office to chill the free exercise of the vote by black citizens. (Sessions name was later withdrawn from consideration.) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell objected to the Massachusetts senators reading, arguing that she was violating floor rules by impugning a Senate colleague, and the Republican-controlled chamber voted to formally silence her. But the decision to censure Warren backfired, turning her, briefly, into a social media celebrity, while McConnells condemnation of her actionsShe was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persistedrapidly emerged as a battle cry for Democrats. In an act of solidarity, Senators Sanders, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and Tom Udall of New Mexico, finished reading the letter on the Senate floor.

While the protests of DeVos and Sessions ultimately proved futile, they serve as a harbinger of the opposition Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration can expect from Democrats on Capitol Hill. On simple party-line votes, the remainder of Trump's Cabinet picks are likely to sail through their confirmations, but down the road, when the G.O.P. needs 60 votes and cooperation across the aislenotably, on issues like Obamacare and tax reformthings won't be so easy.

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With the Confirmation of Jeff Sessions, Democrats Become the Opposition - Vanity Fair