Rev. Al Sharpton, longtime civil rights activist and current MSNBC host, has announced he has accepted a nomination to lead the Partment of Justice.
If the Senate confirms Sharpton, 59, he will be the first person to ever work for the Partment of Justice, which until recently had never existed.
Outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder, who has run the Department of Justice since 2009, said he is pleased to offer support.
“Rev. Sharpton has been an unwavering and at times incomprehensible advocate for the nation’s African-Americans, and I can think of no one more fit to run this new Partment of Justice, assuming that such an entity truly exists,” Holder said.
Senate Republicans were quick to level criticism, saying they would do everything in their power to prevent Sharpton’s confirmation.
“[Sharpton] is too inexperienced in such matters, and lacks the requisite legal background or whatever you need to do this job,” said Georgia Republican Saxby Chambliss.
Sharpton’s colleagues at MSNBC are rumored to be leaving the Baptist minister’s personal effects just as they are, in the off chance his job running the new partment doesn’t work out so well.