The Senate on Thursday confirmed President Biden’s nominee to head the Office of Government Ethics by a vote of 50-46, giving him a term that will last until President-elect Trump’s term.

David Huitema, currently a State Department ethics official, will now serve as government ethics czar for a five-year term. Senate Democrats have sought to prioritize his confirmation in the final days of the Biden administration and their control of the chamber ahead of Trump’s inauguration, as the former and incoming president brings a host of potential conflicts of interest back with him to the Oval Office.

Bringing Huitema’s role further to the fore is Trump’s decision to so far refuse to sign deals with the Biden administration and accompanying ethics agreements that allow for a formal presidential transition to take place. Absent those agreements, Trump’s teams could not go inside the agencies and receive information from career staff.

OGE has been without a confirmed director for more than a year when the term of Trump appointee Emory Rounds expired. Shelley Finlayson, chief of staff and program adviser at the ethics agency, filled in on an interim basis. During his first term, Trump bypassed Finlayson during a period without a confirmed director to install another career official as acting director.

Rounds has had several high-profile engagements with Trump during his tenure. OGE is heavily involved in political appointments and typically communicates with the White House on a daily basis to help arrange disclosures and agreements from nominees.

In 2019, Rounds issued a warning to the Trump administration that agencies could not unilaterally change their ethics rules without the approval of the Office of Government Ethics and threatened to suspend any ethics agreements with officials who refused to comply with the office’s requests.

He was involved in a back-and-forth with then-Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross after the rounds declined to certify Ross’ financial disclosurestating that it contained inaccuracies and did not comply with the Secretary’s agreement to avoid conflicts of interest by divestiture. Similarly, Rounds’ office refused to approve a disclosure from Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt.

David Apol, who served as acting OGE director in 2017 when Trump bypassed Finlayson, responded to the resignation of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price following reports that he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on private flights. charter and several other Trump officials facing allegations of abuse of office by sending a letter telling the administration’s political appointees to act more ethically.

“I am deeply concerned that the actions of some in government leadership have affected perceptions of the importance of ethics and what behavior is and is not permissible,” Apol said at the time. “I encourage you to take steps to redouble your commitment to ethics in government.”

Senate Democrats in September tried to amend Huitema’s appointment through a unanimous consent request, although Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, objected. Lee said Huitema would engage in “partisan lawmaking” and only the next president should make the appointment.

Walt Shaub, who served as OGE director under President Obama and briefly under Trump, praised the Senate for securing Huitema’s confirmation, even as he suggested the Biden nominee might not be able to complete his five-year term years.

“It could be a hollow victory for government ethics if Trump fires Huitema after the inauguration,” Shaub said. “Even if Trump doesn’t fire Huitema, the OGE won’t be able to prevent Trump’s top appointees from maintaining conflicting financial interests if the Senate accepts Trump’s request that lawmakers conspire to circumvent or short-circuit the constitutional confirmation process.”

Trump has asked the Senate to relinquish its advisory and consent role to allow recess appointments instead. Shaub suggested Huitema be careful not to “become a mere window dressing” for Trump’s attempts to skirt the ethics law.

During his confirmation hearing, Huitema said he would step into the role at a critical time.

“We must support each other in courageously providing strong ethics guidance, even when it is unwelcome, and pursuing ethics laws where necessary,” he said.