Democratic Party Senator Leader Chuck Schumer said: “Not only is Gupta the first woman of colour to ever be nominated to the position, she is the first civil rights attorney ever to be nominated to the position.” But Republican Party Senate Leader Mitch McConnell called her “way outside the mainstream” and “an activist for left-wing causes” who had attacked Senators.

Appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last month, Gupta had apologised for some of her tweets saying that she had “fallen prey” to “the rhetoric (that) has gotten quite harsh over the last several years”.

The campaign against her was spearheaded by the right-wing Judicial Crisis Network which launched an ad campaign accusing her of being soft on crime. Five Republican Attorneys General circulated a petition against her confirmation. Defending Democracy Together (DDT), an organisation of conservatives who had opposed former President Donald Trump, countered with a campaign supporting Gupta, saying that she “has been building bridges across partisan divides, she has the broad backing of law enforcement”. Three groups of law enforcement officials, the Fraternal Order of Police, Major County Sheriffs of America and Federal Law Enforcement Officials Association, also supported her.