Intel: Why 5 Democratic presidential hopefuls just rebelled against Trump’s new defense secretary

An overwhelming bipartisan majority of the Senate voted 90-8 Tuesday to confirm former Army Secretary Mark Esper as President Donald Trump’s new defense secretary.
US Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, questions US Secretary of the Army Mark Esper, nominee to be Secretary of Defense, during a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, July 16, 2019. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
US Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., questions US Secretary of the Army Mark Esper, President Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of defense, during a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 16, 2019. Esper was confirmed July 23. - SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
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Bryant Harris
@brykharris_ALM

An overwhelming bipartisan majority of the Senate voted 90-8 today to confirm former Army Secretary Mark Esper as President Donald Trump’s new defense secretary. The outliers? Mostly Democrats running to oust Trump from the White House.

Democratic Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Kamala Harris of California all voted against the nomination. Michael Bennett of Colorado was the only Democratic presidential candidate in the Senate to vote for Esper while Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., didn’t vote.

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