Confirmation delay for new attorney general draws anger

By Askia Muhammad -Senior Editor- | Last updated: Apr 1, 2015 - 11:34:32 AM

Loretta Lynch

WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) - President Barack Obama and several Democrats have accused Republicans in Congress of “playing politics with law enforcement and national security” by not confirming Loretta Lynch, to replace outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder.

Ms. Lynch’s nomination has languished on the floor of the Senate longer than that of the past seven Attorney General nominees combined. “For 30 years, (Ms. Lynch) has distinguished herself as a tough, fair, and independent attorney,” Mr. Obama said in his weekly address during the last week of March.

“As the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, she successfully prosecuted the terrorists who plotted to bomb the Federal Reserve Bank and the New York City subway. She helped secure billions in settlements for people wronged by some of the world’s biggest banks. She’s been dogged in her pursuit of public corruption. She’s jailed some of New York’s most violent and notorious mobsters and gang members. And through it all, she’s worked closely with law enforcement and local communities to get the job done,” the President continued, pointing out that her four month ordeal is the longest confirmation process for an Attorney General in three decades.

“In short, her qualifications are superb. That’s why, in the past, the Senate easily confirmed (Ms. Lynch) to lead one of the most prominent U.S. Attorney offices in the country— not once, but twice.”

Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told reporters that the delay in voting on Ms. Lynch is because of her race. “Loretta Lynch, the first African-American woman nominated to be attorney general, is asked to sit in the back of the bus when it comes to the Senate calendar,” Sen. Durbin said. “That is unfair. It’s unjust. It is beneath the decorum and dignity of the U.S. Senate.”

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus agree. “I think race certainly can be considered a major factor in the delay,” Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, told reporters. Chairman Butterfield was joined by Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio); Dr. Paulette Walker, national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund; and by Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.)

Both the President and incumbent Attorney General Eric Holder dismissed the idea of race playing into the holdup of her confirmation vote. “My guess is that there is probably not a huge racial component to this, that this is really just D.C. politics, Washington at its worst,” Mr. Holder told MSNBC in an interview. “A battle about something that is not connected to this nominee, holding up this nominee. I think that’s the main driver here.”

“The irony is, of course, that the Republicans really dislike Mr. Holder,” the President said in an interview with Huffington Post. “If they really want to get rid of him, the best way to do it is to go ahead and get Loretta Lynch confirmed.” Mr. Holder has agreed to stay on in his position until his successor is confirmed.

But Black leaders are not so quick to concede that this is a “colorblind” issue. “Given the many racial justice issues facing our nation, the country desperately needs a seamless transition and a continued steady hand at the Justice Department,” the CBC leader said in a statement. The most recent, troubling racial-justice issue in a long season of killings of unarmed Black men and boys at the hands of police officers and self-appointed vigilantes—most of whom have been exonerated—is the discovery of the body of Otis Byrd found hanging from a tree with bed sheets around his neck 500 yards from his Port Gibson, Mississippi home.

Local authorities have suggested that Mr. Byrd’s death was a suicide, but they have called in the FBI to help investigate.

A final vote on her nomination could slip into April as a floor fight over abortion continues to drag on. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is demanding the Senate finish working on an anti-human trafficking law before it considers Lynch’s final vote.

Democrats however have promised to filibuster the trafficking bill unless an abortion-related provision is stripped out. On March 17, 43 Democrats voted to block the measure on a procedural vote—denying Republicans the 60 votes needed to end a filibuster and advance the legislation for final passage,” said politico.com.

“Republicans promised that Congress would function smoothly with them in charge. Here’s a small chance for them to prove it,” Mr. Obama said. “Congress should stop playing politics with law enforcement and national security. They should support good people in both parties who want to reform our criminal justice system. And that means they should end the longest confirmation process for an Attorney General in three decades, and give Loretta Lynch a vote.”

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