Senate advances William Barr toward final vote

The Senate voted Tuesday to advance the nomination of William Barr, President Trump’s pick to serve as attorney general, to a final vote.

Barr’s confirmation cleared a procedural hurdle along mostly party lines, in a 55-44 vote. The vote followed a contentious Judiciary Committee hearing last week in which Democrats questioned Barr’s ability to fairly oversee special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into the Trump campaign’s alleged collusion with Russians.