The US Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump’s nomination for attorney general, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, by a vote of 52 to 47.
The confirmation follows a series of divisive hearings during which Democrats attacked Mr Sessions’ record on civil rights.
Democrat Elizabeth Warren was sanctioned after she was accused of impugning Mr Sessions’ reputation.
The Republican’s nomination process has been dogged by allegations of racism.
The vote largely followed party lines, with just one Democrat senator – Joe Manchin of West Virginia – voting for Mr Sessions.
Mr Sessions’ Republican colleagues in the chamber applauded him as their majority carried him over the line.
During debates ahead of the vote, Ms Warren and other Democratic senators recalled criticism of Mr Sessions by Martin Luther King’s widow, who opposed his nomination as a federal judge in 1986, alleging he had intimidated black voters.
Mr Trump has lashed out on Twitter at Democrats stalling his cabinet picks. Sessions, widely seen as an inspiration for Mr Trump’s anti-immigration policies, is the sixth of 15 nominees to be confirmed.
The confirmation follows a turbulent first fortnight as president, during which he has faced heavy criticism over his travel ban and a raid in Yemen which killed one US Navy operative and a number of civilians, including children.
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