Ahead of the vote, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) urged his Democratic colleagues to support her.

Bondi was confirmed by a vote of 54-46, and will now take the reins at the Justice Department at a moment when it is facing questions about the risk of political influence at the department.

The Senate was heading towards a confirmation vote for Pam Bondi as U.S. attorney general Tuesday evening, potentially putting a longtime ally of Donald Trump at the helm of a Justice Department that has already been rattled by the firings of career employees seen as disloyal to the Republican president.