Holder Is In

Eric Holder has been confirmed by the Senate as Attorney General.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Eric Holder as attorney general Monday, voting 75-21 to place him in charge of the Department of Justice.

Holder, 58, is a former federal prosecutor and served as deputy attorney general during the Clinton administration. His confirmation makes him the first African-American confirmed to the post, though he held the job on an acting basis in early 2001.

Monday's vote leaves him set to take over a Justice Department battered by a series of controversies during the Bush administration, from questions about how it laid legal groundwork for harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists to the sackings of top federal prosecutors in several cities.

Still up in the air: Holder actually doing his job and prosecuting Bush officials. I wonder how quickly that will fade from the headlines? Will he even have time? After all he has so much work ahead of him just to get the Justice Department up and running again.