Rosenstein Confirmed As Deputy Attorney General

U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein is about to become Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

Rosenstein, first appointed to the Maryland post by President George W. Bush in 2005, was nominated to his new job by President Donald Trump. He easily passed a 94-6 confirmation vote in the Senate Tuesday. He was confirmed unanimously in 2005.

“He's not a partisan guy,” Baltimore police Commissioner Kevin Davis said of Rosenstein recently. “I've had many conversations with Rod over the last decade and none of those conversations have we spoken about what's politically expedient.”

His March confirmation hearing took on new importance after his new boss, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, bowed to pressure and recused himself from any investigations related to the campaign, including those on Russian interference. The moment Rosenstein is sworn in, that probe falls to him. He refused to commit either way to appointing an independent counsel.

"How I would handle an investigation... is how I would handle any investigation," Rosenstein said. "As far as I'm concerned, every investigation conducted by the Department of Justice is an independent investigation. We prosecute tens of thousands of people every year, and every one of those defendants deserves an independent prosecutor."

The deputy attorney general is responsible for day-to-day operations and oversight of the Justice Department's law enforcement agencies such as the FBI.

Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, both Democrats, voiced support for Rosenstein's nomination.

In Baltimore, Rosenstein focused on gang violence and public corruption.

Rosenstein, a Republican, is the longest-serving U.S. attorney in the country. The prosecutor, 52, is a graduate of Wharton and Harvard Law School. He prosecuted gang members, inmates and corrections officers who ran a smuggling operation at the now-closed Baltimore City Detention Center.

As for Rosenstein's replacement as U.S. attorney, there's no indication on when such a nomination would be made. Hundreds of political appointments in the Trump administration remain unfilled. In March, the administration dismissed 46 remaining Obama-appointed U.S. attorneys. No nominations have yet been made to fill those posts.

WBAL-TV 11 and the Associated Press contributed to this report.