In a voice vote last week, state Delegate Erek L. Barron won U.S. Senate confirmation to become U.S. attorney for Maryland, two months after he was nominated by President Biden.

Barron, who will become the first Black U.S. attorney in state history, is a partner at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Whiteford Taylor & Preston LLP. He has represented District 24 in the House of Delegates since 2015, and previously worked as a federal prosecutor in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and as a prosecutor at the Prince George’s County and Baltimore City state’s attorney’s offices.

From 2007 to 2009, Barron worked for now President Biden as his counsel and policy adviser on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs.

As reported by Maryland Matters,

Maryland’s two U.S. senators, Benjamin L. Cardin (D) and Chris Van Hollen (D), who recommended Barron to Biden, hailed the confirmation vote Thursday night.

“We are confident that Erek will use his background as both a prosecutor and state legislator to improve public safety in our state and help ensure all Marylanders are treated fairly in the criminal justice system,” the senators said in a statement. “We look forward to working closely with Erek on many issues of mutual concern once he is sworn into his new office.”