The Senate on Monday confirmed Eric H. Holder Jr. as attorney general, in an anticlimax to what was once President Obama’s most contentious Cabinet nomination.

By 75-21, Holder was confirmed to lead the Justice Department.

Scheduled to be sworn in Tuesday by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. , Holder will become the first African-American to serve in the position, succeeding acting Attorney General Mark Filip, the interim head of the department since Inauguration Day.

“Eric Holder is a good man, a decent man, a public servant committed to the rule of law,” Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick J. Leahy , D-Vt., said.

Holder’s Republican critics, led initially by Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, worried that his role in some clemencies and pardons that President Bill Clinton issued in 1999 and 2001, while Holder served as deputy attorney general, indicated that he would not be able to resist political pressure from the White House.

Specter and several of his GOP colleagues grilled Holder on those matters and others at his confirmation hearing last month. But Holder’s fate was never seriously in question.

Republican Support and Objection

Conservative Republican Orrin G. Hatch of Utah was an early and consistent supporter. By the time Holder’s confirmation hearing was over, Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who serves on Judiciary, and Mel Martinez of Florida, who does not, also had signaled their support.

Specter decided to back Holder despite his misgivings, pointing to endorsements of Holder from figures such as former FBI Director Louis J. Freeh. And Specter acknowledged the traditional deference given to presidents on their Cabinet picks.

“At the beginning of an administration it is significant to have bipartisan support,” Specter said.

The Judiciary Committee approved Holder’s nomination on a 17-2 vote on Jan. 28, with Republicans John Cornyn of Texas and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma voting “no.”

“I believe certain aspects of his record disqualify him from serving as attorney general,” Coburn said Monday.

Holder’s nomination has been eclipsed in recent days by revelations about the troublesome tax records of Timothy F. Geithner and Tom Daschle, Obama’s choices to lead the Treasury and Health and Human Services departments, respectively.