Loretta Lynch confirmation vote expected this week

Loretta Lynch, President Barack Obama’s nominee to be the nation’s next attorney general could have her confirmation vote this week. The President announced his intention to nominate Lynch to succeed outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder back in November. The Senate Judiciary Committee later held confirmation hearings before sending her nomination to the full Senate for consideration.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had earlier announced his intention to have the Senate vote on Ms. Lynch’s nomination this week. But now that could be delayed after McConnell over the weekend tied a vote on Lynch to passage of human trafficking bill.

In a statement which appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) criticized Republicans for not giving Lynch the vote she deserves.

“For months and months, Republicans have failed to move forward with her nomination using any excuse they can, except for any credible objection to her nomination itself,” Schumer said in a statement. “Loretta Lynch, and the American people, don’t deserve this. At a time when terrorists from ISIS to Al-Shabaab threaten the United States, the nominee to be attorney general deserves an up or down vote.”

It remains to be seen what Sen. McConnell and the Senate Republican leadership will ultimately decide with regards to voting on both Loretta Lynch’s nomination and the human trafficking bill.