The successor to Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General moved one step closer to obtaining that job when the Senate Judiciary Committee voted in favor of his nomination:

Judge Michael Mukasey on Tuesday cleared the biggest hurdle that stood between him and the post of attorney general when the Senate Judiciary Committee approved his nomination 11-8.

Sens. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and Charles Schumer (N.Y.) were the only Democrats who voted to support Mukasey. The nomination is now headed to the Senate floor, where Mukasey is expected to pass easily.