Senate to vote on Trump’s FBI director Tuesday

The Senate on Tuesday will vote on Christopher Wray’s nomination to lead the FBI.

Under a deal hashed out by leadership, the Senate will vote on President Trump’s nominee on Tuesday evening after only four hours of debate.

The agreement, which requires the consent of every senator and allows Wray to skip over potential procedural hurdles, is the latest sign that the president’s pick to lead the FBI is heading toward a smooth confirmation.

{mosads}The Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to send Wray’s nomination to the full Senate late last month.

Tuesday’s vote comes as multiple congressional committees, as well as the Justice Department’s investigation overseen by special counsel Robert Mueller, are probing Russia’s election interference and potential ties between Trump campaign officials and Moscow.

Trump has taken multiple shots at Mueller. But Wray, prompted by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), defended the investigation during this confirmation hearing.

“I do not consider Director Mueller to be on a witch hunt,” Wray said at the time.

Democrats have also signaled they think Wray will be able to stand up to Trump, including any potential attempts to quash FBI investigations.

“He committed to doing the job by the book and without any regard to partisan political influence,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said before the committee’s vote on Wray.

Former FBI Director James Comey had accused the president of asking him to back off a probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein named Mueller as a special counsel for the investigation after Trump made the surprise decision to fire Comey from the FBI’s top spot.

Democrats, and some GOP lawmakers, were concerned about Comey’s firing. They’ve repeatedly offered bipartisan praise for Mueller, himself a former FBI director, despite Trump’s public frustration with his investigation.