Controversial DOJ nominee fails to clear Senate test vote

foxnews.com Senate Democrats failed to muster enough support to push a controversial Justice Department nominee past a key test vote on Wednesday, leaving the nomination stalled amid bipartisan concerns about his past work on behalf of convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal. The nomination of Debo Adegbile for head of the Civil Rights Division was blocked, on a 47-52 vote. Adegbile needed just 51 senators to support him in order to advance to a final vote. In anticipation of a tight vote, Vice President Biden even attended in case he was needed by his Democratic colleagues to break a tie. But it did not get to that point, as a total of seven Democrats peeled off, joining a nearly united Republican opposition. One of them, Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly, said afterward he was "concerned about his ability to work with law enforcement" if confirmed. Maureen Faulkner, widow of the Philadelphia officer killed by Abu-Jamal, told Fox News after the vote that Adegbile was "the wrong person for the job." She thanked Democratic senators who "broke ranks and had the courage to do the right thing." Democrats were facing heavy pressure from police organizations, as well as Republicans, to vote against the nominee. After the tally, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus called the nomination itself "an embarrassment for President Obama," and blasted "vulnerable Democrats running in 2014" who voted "yes." to read more: foxnews.com