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.