The US Senate confirmed retired judge Michael Mukasey as attorney general last night to replace Alberto Gonzales.
Mr Mukasey's hawkish view on interrogation methods in President George W Bush's war on terror split the Senate, and the 53-40 margin by which he was confirmed was narrower than expected.
The choice, according to Democrat Dianne Feinstein who voted in favour, was essentially between "whether to confirm Michael Mukasey as the next attorney general or whether to leave the Department of Justice without a real leader for the next 14 months".
Mr Mukasey, his opponents argued, refused to say whether waterboarding is torture and put the onus on Congress to pass a law against the practice. Waterboarding, used by interrogators to make someone feel they are going to drown, is banned by domestic law and international treaties.
But US law applies to Pentagon personnel and not the CIA, and the administration have refused to say whether it has allowed the agency's employees to use it against prisoners.
The confirmation vote capped 10 months of scandal and resignations at the Justice Department. Mr Gonzales was forced from office in a scandal over his handling of the Justice Department.