WASHINGTON - Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions has been sworn in as President Donald Trump's attorney general.

During an Oval Office ceremony, Trump called Sessions a man of integrity and principal, and someone who has devoted his life to the cause of justice.

Sessions was sworn in the morning after the Senate confirmed his nomination following a contentious confirmation process. The Alabama lawmaker resigned his Senate seat shortly after his colleagues approved him on a 52-47 vote that broke largely along partisan lines.

Sessions was the first sitting U.S. senator to endorse Trump. He faced criticism from Democrats over his record on civil rights and immigration.

Republicans lauded his four decades of public service and his commitment to fairness and the rule of law.