A Senate committee voted Wednesday to approve
Eric Holder as the next top US law enforcement officer, sending the nomination
to the full chamber for a final vote, dpa
reported.
The Senate is expected to approve Holder, 58, to become the first African
American to head the Justice Department. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted
17-2 to back the nominee, a committee spokesman said.
Republican senators John Cornyn of Texas and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma cast the
two votes against him. Republicans had previously delayed a vote on Holder,
wanting more information on how he would manage President Barack Obama's plans
to close the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba detention centre for suspects in the war on
terrorism.
In one of his first acts as president, Obama signed orders last Thursday to
shut down the notorious facility.
Holder served in the Clinton administration as deputy attorney general and
faced questions during his confirmation hearings this month over his role in
the controversial pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich in the final says of
the Clinton presidency.