Sally Yates’ nomination to be Deputy Attorney General was confirmed 84-12 by a GOP Senate and she received 40 Republican votes – including 9 of the 10 current Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans who were in the Senate at the time.

Yates’ confirmation as Deputy Attorney General was confirmed 84-12 by the Senate in 2015.  Forty Republican Senators voted to confirm her, including Cornyn, Cruz, Flake, Graham, Grassley, Hatch, Lee, Sasse, and Tillis.

Yates was first hired to work at the DOJ by Bob Barr, a Republican U.S. Attorney who went on to become a GOP congressman, and she went on to serve in two Republican administrations.

“[Yates] brought into the Justice Department in 1989 by Bob Barr, a Republican who was U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia at the time. Barr would go on to be a member of Congress. ‘She was the very best of the candidates for the position—extremely bright and well-suited to the temperament of an assistant U.S. attorney,’ Barr said.”

Yates served in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Georgia under President George H.W. Bush, President Clinton, President George W. Bush and President Obama. 

During her confirmation process, Yates won praise from Republicans for being independent, non-partisan and fair.

Sen. Johnny Isakson, introducing Yates at her 2015 confirmation hearing, said: “Sally Yates is going to astonish the United States of America. She is exactly what this country needs in the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C. She will be a hero of the American people, a hero of what’s right. She’ll call them like she sees them and she will be fair and she will be just. She is a lady of impeccable taste, impeccable integrity and an impeccable record and I am very proud to second her nomination today.”

Sen. David Perude, speaking to Yates at her 2015 confirmation hearing, said “In your comments this morning, you commented that—you made the comments that your loyalties were the people of the U.S. and the U.S. Constitution and that the deputy attorney general has to be first and last, independent and not partisan, and I would second that. I would also put, for the record, my observation that’s exactly what you did in your role in Georgia, and I hope you bring that to this role in the Justice Department here in Washington.”

In 2015, Sen. Grassley said Yates’ “willingness to demonstrate some independence when the situation calls for it” was a significant factor in his decision to vote for her nomination.

Former GOP Congressman Bob Barr on Yates’ nomination: “Congratulations to US Attorney Sally Yates on her well-deserved promotion to Deputy AG.  I knew when I hired her back in 1989 she would truly excel.”

Former Bush U.S. Attorney David Nahmias said of Yates: “‘I think Sally is as good a federal prosecutor as there is in the country…She’s smart and a very talented advocate. More importantly, she has great judgment and a real sense of fairness…’ Nahmias said Yates has had ‘the confidence of both Republican and Democratic political appointees for 25 years now.’”