Senate Confirms Holder As First African-American A.G.

The Senate voted 75-21 for Eric Holder's confirmation, showing a degree of cross-aisle agreement.

However, the confirmation wasn't without contentiousness. The GOP had been seeking a pledge that Eric Holder will not attempt to prosecute anyone for participation in torture.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, angered over recent weeks from such pledge-seeking said:

"No one should be seeking to trade a vote for such a pledge."

Despite that, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, said Holder was well-qualified for the job and should be confirmed.

Now confirmed, Holder will have to renovate a Justice Department that suffered greatly over the "attorneygate" scandal, which rankled many and tarnished its reputation.

He will also have to decide if indeed he will seek to prosecute anyone on charges of torture (AKA, harsh interrogations in Bush administration-speak).