WASHINGTON -- The Senate overwhelmingly confirmed James Comey on Monday to become FBI director, elevating the one-time Justice Department official who defied efforts by President George W. Bush's White House to renew a program that allowed warrantless eavesdropping.
Comey was approved 93-1 after one of the Senate's leading conservatives abruptly ended delaying tactics that had blocked a vote on the nomination.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., mentioned as a possible 2016 GOP presidential candidate, had been thwarting the vote over his concerns about the FBI's domestic use of drones.