Loretta E. Lynch on Thursday was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee to replace outgoing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. in what promises to be a contentious nomination vote before the full Republican-controlled Senate, according to media reports.
The New York Times reports:
The panel voted 12 to 8 to advance Ms. Lynch, President Obama’s pick to replace Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. as the nation’s top law enforcement official, with all of the votes against her coming from Republicans. The full Senate will most likely vote in the next week or two.
While praising Ms. Lynch’s credentials, Republicans made it clear that their objections to her nomination hinged on her belief in the legality of the president’s executive action on immigration, the same issue that has tied up the approval of funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
The United States attorney in Brooklyn, Lynch has twice been confirmed by the Senate during her career. However, she can expect some resistance this time from Republicans as she seeks to be the chief law enforcement officer for the U.S. government.
RELATED STORY: Dems Outraged Over Loretta Lynch Confirmation Vote Delay
Thursday, Roland Martin and the “NewsOne Now” Straight Talk panel discussed the Attorney General confirmation process and why Republicans are slow-walking this process.
“NewsOne Now” panelist Lauren Victoria Burke of Crew of 42 told Martin, “The big deal is she wouldn’t talk against Eric Holder, the current Attorney General, who Republicans hate.”
Rashad Robinson of Color of Change added to Burke’s sentiment saying, “Her biggest problem is she is being nominated by this president [Barack Obama].”
See the rest of their conversation in the video below.
Despite all this, Lynch is likely to be confirmed. As the New York Times explains:
But a change to the Senate rules orchestrated by Democrats in 2013 means that only a simple majority — not the previous threshold of 60 votes — is needed to stop a filibuster and confirm a nominee. With a handful of Republicans already expressing their support for Ms. Lynch, it seems likely that she will be confirmed.
Our fingers are crossed!
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