Pam Bondi is one step closer to becoming the next attorney general after her nomination cleared a procedural hurdle Monday. Senators voted 52-46 along party lines to approve a motion to invoke cloture on her nomination.

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 has confirmed Pam Bondi as U.S. attorney general. Her confirmation puts 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.