SEATTLE TIMES FILE PHOTO

Jenny Durkan

Seattle attorney Jenny Durkan was confirmed today as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington by a unanimous vote of the U.S. Senate, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Durkan will be sworn in U.S. District Court Chief Judge Robert S. Lasnik. A formal installation ceremony will be scheduled in the near future, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

"I am honored and humbled by this challenge and responsibility, and will spend each day working to honor the rule of law, protect our citizens from crime and to defend the U.S. in civil cases, " Durkan said in the news release. "I am proud to lead this team of outstanding attorneys and staff who work tirelessly in this pursuit."

Durkan, 50, will replace Jeff Sullivan, who was appointed by the district's federal judges after John McKay was fired in 2006 in a politically motivated purge that led to congressional hearings and the resignation of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Sullivan will remain with the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Durkan, considered to be fiercely Democratic, was nominated for the post by President Barack Obama in May. The Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed her last Thursday, sending her nomination to the full Senate.

She is the daughter of Martin J. Durkan Sr., a political giant in the state who served as chairman of the state Senate Ways and Means Committee and later became a powerful lobbyist. He died in 2005. Her mother, Lorraine Durkan, the onetime executive editor of the Ballard News Tribune, died in February 2008.

Durkan has worked for years as a high-end criminal and civil attorney, simultaneously becoming a major figure in the Democratic Party. She also served on two panels, one appointed by former Mayor Paul Schell and another by Mayor Greg Nickels, to examine misconduct and accountability in the Seattle Police Department.

Durkan graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1980 and received her law degree from the University of Washington in 1985. She is a member of the Washington State and District of Columbia bars.

Durkan lives in Seattle with her longtime partner and their two sons.

When she is sworn in, Durkan will become the fourth person with Seattle ties to be seated in a federal post after nomination by Obama.

Former Seattle police Chief Gil Kerlikowske was appointed head of the Office of National Drug Control Police Policy. Former King County Executive Ron Sims was named deputy secretary of Housing and Urban Development. And former governor and King County executive Gary Locke has been named Commerce secretary.