Kagan confirmed as Solicitor General

The Senate has voted 61-31 to confirm former Dean of Harvard Law School Elena Kagan as the first female solicitor general. She will become the 45th person to hold the office.  The roll call of the vote is available here.

All 31 votes against her confirmation came from Republicans, including Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) who had spoken out against her nomination and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) who pressed her during and after the nomination hearing to voice her opinions about issues such as abortion, capital punishment, same-sex rights and military recruitment on university campuses.

For more biographical information and live blog notes from last month’s confirmation hearing click here. For Tom’s earlier speculations about Kagan as a possible Supreme Court nominee should a vacancy arise, click here.