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On Wednesday, the U.S Senate confirmed a former Justice Department official to lead the Criminal Division of the department and oversee the government’s career prosecutors. Democrats fought the nomination of the former staff member, Brian A. Benczkowski by raising questions regarding his qualifications. Mr. Benczkowski has never tried a case in court and was also scrutinized over private-sector work for one of the largest banks of Russia. The 51-to-48 vote was along party lines, with only Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, joining Republicans to confirm Mr. Benczkowski. His confirmation broke a logjam of pending nominations for top jobs at the Justice Department. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement that Brian is an outstanding lawyer with a diverse public service and criminal law background spanning over 20 years.

48-years old Benczkowski has worked since 2010 as a lawyer focused on white-collar criminal defense cases at the firm Kirkland & Ellis. He helped Russia’s Alfa Bank investigate whether its computer servers had contacted the Trump Organization, a question that touched directly on suspicions about the bank that emerged in the early months of the Trump-Russia affair. The F.B.I also investigated and found that data moving between the bank and the Trump Organization did not amount to clandestine communications, and some experts suggested that it was related to Trump hotel marketing materials. But Democratic senators said that the decision of Benczkowski to take on the Alfa Bank work last year amid heightened scrutiny over relations between Trump associates and Russia showed a lack of good judgment.