Washington, D.C. ? Michael Mukasey’s nomination as the nation’s next attorney general was sent to the full Senate on Tuesday as a vehicle for the broader, and more bitter, debate over the legality of the Bush administration’s interrogation techniques for terrorism suspects.

The retired federal judge was expected to win confirmation easily by the end of next week, but not without significant floor discussion inspired by his refusal to say that waterboarding amounts to illegal torture.

Within hours of the Judiciary Committee’s 11-8 endorsement of the nomination Tuesday, Mukasey’s name was invoked in the same sentence as “torture” in a campaign appeal on behalf of Democrats.

“If he can’t say no to torture, we say no to Mukasey,” read a letter sent out by Friends for Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader who had announced earlier in the day he would vote against confirmation.

Mukasey’s comments on torture rankled senators of both parties, but the nominee averted a rebellion by promising to enforce any law Congress passes outlawing the practice – or quit the post if President Bush ignores his legal advice.