The Senate voted 88 to 11 Friday to confirm Marine Gen. John Kelly as the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
The vote on Kelly came just hours after President Donald Trump was sworn in and represented one of the few nominees Democrats were willing to push through swiftly.
Kelly, 66, was previously charged with running the US Southern Command where he became an expert on drug smuggling and immigration. Kelly was a surprising choice for some who feared Trump would select immigration hardliner Kris Kobach to lead DHS.
Kelly is considered one of the least controversial of Trump’s nominees. In 2010, Kelly lost his son Lt. Robert Michael Kelly, a Marine, in combat in Afghanistan.
Trump will have to wait awhile on his other nominees. Democrats have vowed to run out the clock on nominees for the Department of Education, Health and Human Services, Secretary of State, Treasury and others.