The United States Senate on Wednesday narrowly confirmed Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins to be the next U.S. attorney for Massachusetts.The vote to confirm Rollins faced weeks of delay, and the final votes on Wednesday came with drama. Vice President Kamala Harris was needed to break two votes that were tied 50-50 along party lines. The first vote came Wednesday morning on a procedural motion to advance her nomination to a full confirmation vote. The vice president also had to break a tie in the final confirmation vote. Republicans all voted against Rollins' nomination.Rollins was the first woman of color to serve as a district attorney in Massachusetts and she becomes the first Black woman to serve as U.S. attorney for Massachusetts.“I’m deeply honored and humbled by the opportunity to serve my community, my Commonwealth and my country as the next United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts,” Rollins said in a stetement. “Every policy and initiative that I have put in place as Suffolk County District Attorney has been designed to improve the safety and wellbeing of the communities I serve, to improve the public’s trust in law enforcement and our courts and to improve the fairness and equity of the criminal legal system. I’m incredibly proud of the work every member of my office has done to achieve these goals, and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to lead an office of such dedicated, compassionate and talented professionals."I look forward to bringing these data-driven, evidenced-based approaches and a heightened emphasis on culturally competent, trauma-informed victim services to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.”The last permanent U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts was Trump appointee Andrew Lelling.Rollins was nominated by the White House in July, but the process was deadlocked in the Judiciary Committee. Several Republicans tried to block her nomination vote, calling Rollins' views radical. Rollins graduated with an LL.M. in labor and employment law from Georgetown University Law Center in 1999, her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law in 1997, and her B.A. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1994.“We were glad to recommend District Attorney Rachael Rollins to serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, and today we are delighted that the Senate has voted to confirm her to the role," U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey said in a joint statement. "D.A. Rollins has devoted her career to transforming the criminal justice system so that it actually reduces crime and provides equal justice for all. In this new role, we have every confidence that she will continue her partnerships with law enforcement, community advocates and other key members of the legal community to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all of the people of the commonwealth, and we look forward to the renewed energy and innovative vision she will bring to the U.S. Attorney’s office.” Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker will have to appoint a successor to fill the remainder of Rollins' term, which expires in 2022.“Governor Baker congratulates DA Rollins on her confirmation as the next U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts and looks forward to continuing to work with her. The Governor will make an appointment soon from a pool of qualified applicants to serve as District Attorney in Suffolk County," Baker's press secretary, Terry MacCormack, said in a statement.Rollins, a Democrat, defeated independent Michael Maloney in 2018 to become the first woman of color to be elected district attorney in Massachusetts. She ran on a platform of curbing mass incarceration and racial disparities in the criminal justice system."From moving thousands of cases that were tainted in the Massachusetts drug lab scandals to declining to prosecute low-level offenses, Rachael Rollins has really shown that we can take a different approach to law enforcement," said Carol Rose, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts.As the top prosecutor for Boston and surrounding communities, Rollins has been outspoken about the need for police reform in the wake of high-profile killings of people of color by law enforcement across the U.S. In an interview with The Associated Press in April, she said the country must do away with the misconception that questioning the police or suggesting ways they can improve means “you don’t back the blue.”“The police have an incredibly hard job, and believe me, I know there are violent people that harm community and police but that’s not all of us. So we have to acknowledge that it’s not working and we have to sit together to come up with solutions, but it’s urgent,” Rollins said at the time. “I’m afraid, I’m exhausted and I’m the chief law enforcement officer so imagine what other people feel like."Rollins has also sparred with Boston’s largest police union, which accused her last summer of inciting violence against law enforcement after she tweeted: “We are being murdered at will by the police ... No more words. Demand action.” Rollins rebuffed the union’s criticism, saying on Twitter, “White fragility is real people.”The Associated Press contributed to this report.
BOSTON —
The United States Senate on Wednesday narrowly confirmed Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins to be the next U.S. attorney for Massachusetts.
The vote to confirm Rollins faced weeks of delay, and the final votes on Wednesday came with drama. Vice President Kamala Harris was needed to break two votes that were tied 50-50 along party lines.
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The first vote came Wednesday morning on a procedural motion to advance her nomination to a full confirmation vote. The vice president also had to break a tie in the final confirmation vote.
Republicans all voted against Rollins' nomination.
Rollins was the first woman of color to serve as a district attorney in Massachusetts and she becomes the first Black woman to serve as U.S. attorney for Massachusetts.
“I’m deeply honored and humbled by the opportunity to serve my community, my Commonwealth and my country as the next United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts,” Rollins said in a stetement. “Every policy and initiative that I have put in place as Suffolk County District Attorney has been designed to improve the safety and wellbeing of the communities I serve, to improve the public’s trust in law enforcement and our courts and to improve the fairness and equity of the criminal legal system. I’m incredibly proud of the work every member of my office has done to achieve these goals, and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to lead an office of such dedicated, compassionate and talented professionals.
"I look forward to bringing these data-driven, evidenced-based approaches and a heightened emphasis on culturally competent, trauma-informed victim services to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.”
The last permanent U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts was Trump appointee Andrew Lelling.
Rollins was nominated by the White House in July, but the process was deadlocked in the Judiciary Committee. Several Republicans tried to block her nomination vote, calling Rollins' views radical.
Rollins graduated with an LL.M. in labor and employment law from Georgetown University Law Center in 1999, her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law in 1997, and her B.A. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1994.
“We were glad to recommend District Attorney Rachael Rollins to serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, and today we are delighted that the Senate has voted to confirm her to the role," U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey said in a joint statement. "D.A. Rollins has devoted her career to transforming the criminal justice system so that it actually reduces crime and provides equal justice for all. In this new role, we have every confidence that she will continue her partnerships with law enforcement, community advocates and other key members of the legal community to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all of the people of the commonwealth, and we look forward to the renewed energy and innovative vision she will bring to the U.S. Attorney’s office.”
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker will have to appoint a successor to fill the remainder of Rollins' term, which expires in 2022.
“Governor Baker congratulates DA Rollins on her confirmation as the next U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts and looks forward to continuing to work with her. The Governor will make an appointment soon from a pool of qualified applicants to serve as District Attorney in Suffolk County," Baker's press secretary, Terry MacCormack, said in a statement.
Rollins, a Democrat, defeated independent Michael Maloney in 2018 to become the first woman of color to be elected district attorney in Massachusetts. She ran on a platform of curbing mass incarceration and racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
"From moving thousands of cases that were tainted in the Massachusetts drug lab scandals to declining to prosecute low-level offenses, Rachael Rollins has really shown that we can take a different approach to law enforcement," said Carol Rose, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts.
As the top prosecutor for Boston and surrounding communities, Rollins has been outspoken about the need for police reform in the wake of high-profile killings of people of color by law enforcement across the U.S. In an interview with The Associated Press in April, she said the country must do away with the misconception that questioning the police or suggesting ways they can improve means “you don’t back the blue.”
“The police have an incredibly hard job, and believe me, I know there are violent people that harm community and police but that’s not all of us. So we have to acknowledge that it’s not working and we have to sit together to come up with solutions, but it’s urgent,” Rollins said at the time. “I’m afraid, I’m exhausted and I’m the chief law enforcement officer so imagine what other people feel like."
Rollins has also sparred with Boston’s largest police union, which accused her last summer of inciting violence against law enforcement after she tweeted: “We are being murdered at will by the police ... No more words. Demand action.” Rollins rebuffed the union’s criticism, saying on Twitter, “White fragility is real people.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
