During his fourteen-month tenure as attorney general, Barr redoubled his efforts to expand the authority of the presidency. He also carried out tough-on-crime policies, increased drug-related prison sentences, and cracked down on illegal immigration. His approach reflected the views he held before, during, and after his time as the country’s chief law enforcement officer. In a 1995 symposium on violent crime, he argued that the root cause was not poverty but immorality.
