Story highlights Bradbury was confirmed Tuesday

The only Republicans to oppose the nomination were McCain and Sen. Rand Paul

Washington (CNN) Sen. John McCain explained Wednesday why he wouldn't vote to confirm Steven Bradbury as the Department of Transportation's top legal officer, citing his role in justifying torture practices during the George W. Bush administration.

"I will not support a nominee who justified the use of torture. Our enemies act without conscience - we must not," the Arizona Republican tweeted.

I will not support a nominee who justified the use of torture. Our enemies act without conscience - we must not. https://t.co/lHSbDXpaG5 pic.twitter.com/IiWTVRSE9G — John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) November 15, 2017

McCain and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul were the only Republicans who voted against Bradbury's successful confirmation Tuesday.

In a Medium post published Wednesday, McCain said Bradbury, while serving as the acting head of the Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel from 2005 to 2009, authored the "torture memos," which provided legal justifications for enhanced interrogation techniques, including waterboarding and other methods used by the CIA for detainees held by the US under law of war authorities.

"Put simply, Mr. Bradbury's memos were permission slips for torture," McCain wrote in the post. "Let's not pretend that there was no direct connection between the legal work done by Mr. Bradbury and the abuses that followed."

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