South Dakota's new U.S. Attorney says his job will be all about prosecuting, not politics, even though he comes from a political family.  Brendan Johnson, son of Senator Tim Johnson, was confirmed last night by the U.S. Senate.

The sparse furnishings at Brendan Johnson's downtown Sioux Falls law office show a legal career in transition. Johnson has boxed-up five-years of private practice to take on the responsibilities as South Dakota's top federal prosecutor.

"There's a lot of excitement about finally getting into the position and going to work," Johnson said.

Johnson underwent months of federal scrutiny, including interviews with the FBI, to see if he was up to the job. But Johnson's dad told him the Senate confirmation is the easy part.

"'Congratulations,' and, 'You're going to be working a lot long hours now,' is what he said to me," Johnson said.

Some critics thought Tim Johnson was meddling when he checked on the progress of his son's nomination. But Brendan Johnson is defending his father's actions.

"He's got his job to do in terms of making sure that the positions are filled," Johnson said.

Next week, Johnson heads to Washington, D.C. to sit down with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to discuss South Dakota's law enforcement needs.

"We've got outstanding men and women in law enforcement and they do a heck of a job. But we could use more of them and we could use more resources for law enforcement," Johnson said.

Johnson also hopes to strengthen the working relationship between his office, local and state law enforcement as well as tribal agencies. Johnson says his earlier experience as a prosecutor with the Minnehaha County state's attorney's office will serve him well as he takes on a federal caseload as U.S. attorney.

Johnson says he'll also make a priority of prosecuting drug and Internet sex crimes as well as domestic violence cases with his new job.