African-American Leaders Call for Senate Vote on Loretta Lynch Nomination
WASHINGTON – Earlier today, African-American leaders hosted a press call to urge the Senate to move ahead with the long overdue confirmation vote on Loretta Lynch’s nomination for Attorney General.
Click here to listen to an MP3 recording of today’s call.
Despite being indisputably qualified and already twice-confirmed unanimously for U.S. Attorney by the Senate, Loretta Lynch has had to wait longer for a confirmation vote than any nominee for Attorney General in 30 years. Lynch, who would be the first African-American female Attorney General, is now subject to another absurd attempt to block and delay her nomination that has nothing to do with her qualifications or character. 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. On the call, leaders called for an immediate vote in favor of Loretta Lynch’s confirmation for Attorney General.
Below are select quotes from the call:
Congressman G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus
“The Congressional Black Caucus is disturbed that the confirmation of Loretta Lynch has taken four months to receive an up or down vote and we call on the Senate to swiftly confirm her. Ms. Lynch has had the longest delay of any Attorney General in modern history and this is problematic. The politics that Republicans have played with her nomination are deplorable and opposition to her nomination is nothing more than a political ploy to once again use any means necessary to show their disdain for President Obama. We need to wake up America, and see this for what it is. This is a travesty. We should not deny the President of the United States his choice of a qualified candidate. Every American should be interested in ensuring Attorney Lynch is treated fairly.”
Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge of Ohio
“Loretta Lynch’s qualifications to serve as Attorney General of the United States have never been in dispute. President Obama and our nation are left waiting for a confirmation vote for no reason other than the petty and mean-spirited political gamesmanship of Senate leadership. I urge the Senate Majority Leader to bring Ms. Lynch’s nomination to the floor for a vote without further delay. Anything less is an affront to all Americans.”
Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
”When a woman of Loretta Lynch’s impeccable qualifications appears before the Senate fully qualified and fully prepared to become the top law enforcement officer of this country and faces the longest delay in confirmation in modern history, all across the country women are watching, African-African American women are watching, and the civil rights community is watching.”
Dr. Paulette C. Walker, national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
“Lynch’s performance in her hearing was flawless, so much so that senators are not opposing her on her record. Instead, her nomination is being held hostage to issues that are not germane to her or how she would run the Department of Justice. Lynch is a member of Delta Sigma Theta, but even if she were not, we would still be calling for her immediate confirmation.”
Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
“The Senate Republican majority is using every excuse it can find to delay or obstruct Lynch’s confirmation. And the one thing these excuses all have in common is that none of them have anything to do with the nominee herself. We know that senators can walk and chew gum at the same time and that this is just the latest turn in what has been the most mishandled and manipulated confirmation process in memory.”
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