Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Historic Lynch Nomination

The U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary on Thursday advanced the nomination (12-8) of Loretta Lynch to be U.S. Attorney General. If confirmed by the Senate, Lynch would be the first African-American woman to hold the position.

“We commend the members of the Judiciary Committee who voted today to advance the long overdue nomination of Loretta Lynch for Attorney General of the United States, especially those Republican members who brushed aside partisan rhetoric to support this historic and superbly qualified nominee,” said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, in a statement after the vote.

In addition to every Democrat on the committee, Sens. Orrin Hatch, R. Utah, Jeff Flake, R. Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R. S.C., also voted to advance Lynch’s nomination, which has already been pending for 110 days – the longest pending attorney general nomination in recent history.

“Lynch has been a strong, independent prosecutor who has twice headed one of the most important U.S. Attorney’s offices in the country and had decades of experience as a lawyer and a leader,” Henderson said. “It’s also worth noting that not a single witness at her confirmation hearing said she should not be confirmed.”

Yesterday, the president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) sent a letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R. Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, expressing his support for Lynch on behalf of more than 22,000 IACP members.

Her nomination is also widely supported by the civil rights community. More than 40 groups signed onto a letter sent to the Senate ahead of the committee vote urging swift confirmation.