U.S. Senate delaying confirming Loretta Lynch as attorney general

The U.S. Senate continues to delay in voting on Loretta Lynch’s nomination as attorney general more than four months after President Barack Obama selected her for the post, breaking a record for blocking such an important official’s confirmation.

A congressional dispute over a law on human trafficking which originally had bipartisan support is the latest obstacle to Lynch’s confirmation after Republicans added several amendments to the bill to restrict abortions and to deny citizenship to U.S.born children of foreign citizens, measures which Democrats are not inclined to accept.

Given this situation, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that Lynch’s confirmation will remain frozen until the human trafficking bill with its additions is brought to a vote.

Lynch has been waiting for 129 days for confirmation to replace Eric Holder at attorney general, and that is a longer span than for the five previous attorney general nominees combined. Those previous candidates were Holder, Michael Mukasey, Alberto Gonzales, John Ashcroft and Janet Reno.

“There are both Democrats and Republicans in here. That speaks to the kind of unconscionable delay that we’ve seen,” said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

Earnest’s criticism of the process was leveled in significantly harsher terms than normal, reflecting the White House’s frustration with the delay. He noted that no lawmakers Republicans or Democrats have questioned her qualifications for the post.

Lynch, the former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, at her confirmation hearing several months ago expressed her clear support for Obama’s immigration measures designed to prevent the deportation of almost five million illegal immigrants, and that stance evidently caused conservative lawmakers to begin stonewalling the process.

Lynch, if and when eventually confirmed, will be the first African American woman to serve as the top U.S. law enforcement officer.