West Virginia’s Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin says he will vote for GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions to be confirmed as the next Attorney General.
Manchin said Friday he will vote to confirm Sessions, according to The Hill. Sessions needs a simple majority in the Senate to confirm him as the nation’s next attorney general. Republicans will control 52 Senate seats by December if the GOP wins Louisiana’s special election.
The former governor may face a tough re-election in 2018: His state voted for President-Elect Donald Trump with every single county voting Republican and giving him 68.7 percent of the vote. Manchin is one of several Democrats in vulnerable seats, with Democratic seats in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida, and Ohio also up for grabs.
All five states voted Trump, with Pennsylvania turning red for the first Republican presidential candidate since 1988.
Republicans could hold a filibuster-proof majority after mid-term elections if they win those 10 seats in the states which Trump won.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has also announced he supports Sessions for attorney general.
Sessions was the first Senator to endorse Trump.