An Indianapolis attorney has gotten the approval of a key congressional judiciary panel to become the new U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana.

At an executive business meeting this morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted by unanimous consent in favor of Joseph H. Hogsett’s nomination for the top prosecutor spot. The Bingham McHale senior partner now faces a confirmation vote from the full Senate, though there’s no timeline on when that might happen.

If confirmed, the Indiana University Maurer School of Law – Bloomington graduate who once served as Indiana Secretary of State would take a position that hasn’t had a Senate-confirmed leader since October 2008, when Susan Brooks left to take a general counsel spot at Ivy Tech Community College. Longtime second-in-command and previous interim leader Tim Morrison took over that role temporarily.