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New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal[/caption] The New Jersey Senate on Tuesday confirmed Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal to become the next Attorney General, only hours after Democrat Philip Murphy was sworn in to succeed Republican Chris Christie as governor. Grewal, the first Sikh-American attorney general, was confirmed without opposition. He was Murphy's first nomination to be considered under his administration. The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously recommended approval of Grewal's nomination shortly beforehand. The only contentious questioning during the Judiciary Committee hearing came from the ranking Republican member, Sen. Gerald Cardinale of Bergen County. First, Cardinale, a supporter of President Donald Trump, asked Grewal whether he would move to enforce the federal administration's attempts to deport illegal aliens, and to commit state law enforcement officials to enforce those efforts. Grewal, a resident of Glen Rock, said it was not up to state law enforcement officials to enforce federal immigration policy, unless there are allegations that crimes have been committed. Judiciary Committee Chairman Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, objected to the question. "We don't enforce federal immigration laws," he said. "The question is misplaced." Scutari then moved on to the issue of the recreational use of marijuana, which Murphy has endorsed. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions earlier this month rescinded an order issued by the administration of President Barack Obama that relaxed prosecution of federal anti-drug laws in the wake of numerous states legalizing the recreational and medical use of marijuana. "I had a feeling you were going for this," interjected Scutari, who is sponsoring legislation that would legalize recreational use in New Jersey. Grewal said only that his job, as attorney general, would be to offer the administration advise on how to reconcile any legalization policy against federal policy. He didn't say that state law enforcement officials would assist the federal government in any crackdown on recreational marijuana use. In general remarks, Grewal said as attorney general he would focus on improving police and community relations and moving to strictly enforce the state's environmental protection laws and regulations, which now are coming into conflict with the Trump administration's attempts to change pollution rules. Grewal, who has headed the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office for nearly two years, was a federal prosecutor in New Jersey and New York previously. On his January 2016 swearing-in as acting prosecutor, Grewal was the state’s the first Sikh and first South Asian county prosecutor. Grewal’s nomination was confirmed in November 2016. He replaced longtime Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli, who was asked by Christie to retire in late 2015 and subsequently went to Price, Meese, Shulman & D’Arminio in Woodcliff Lake. At the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey beginning in 2010, Grewal worked in the Criminal Division, and headed the Economic Crimes Unit from 2014 to 2016. Before that he was deputy chief of the Economic Crimes Unit and the Hacking and IP Crimes Unit. As a federal prosecutor in New Jersey, he handled data breach and hacking cases, as well as the prosecution of Eliyahu Weinstein, convicted of operating a $200 million real estate Ponzi scheme. Grewal was also an assistant in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, from 2004 to 2007, including in the Business and Securities Fraud Unit. He was in private practice at Howrey from 1999 to 2004, and from 2008 to 2010, in Washington, D.C., and New York, handling investigations, criminal defense and related matters. Grewal is a 1999 graduate of the College of William & Mary’s Marshall-Wythe School of Law. He earned his undergraduate degree at Georgetown University. Christie first announced his intention to nominate Grewal for Bergen County prosecutor in 2013, though the state Senate did not immediately move on the nomination. In 2016, Christie renominated him, and appointed him acting county prosecutor early that year, after Molinelli’s departure. The Senate confirmed Grewal later in 2016.