Civil and Human Rights Coalition Calls for Vote on Loretta Lynch Nomination before Recess

WASHINGTON – Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement in advance of the Senate recess. Lynch has been nominated to become the next Attorney General:

“The Senate should stop embarrassing itself and vote on the Loretta Lynch nomination before it adjourns.

The Republican leadership has mishandled and manipulated the Lynch nomination in every way conceivable. And thanks to Mitch McConnell, this trial by ordeal has moved from the ridiculous to the absurd.

The Senate can only govern when its leadership decides to do so.  Instead of voting for this cabinet-level nominee, the Senate confirmed a Federal Maritime Commissioner on Monday night. Should this nomination continue to languish over the recess, the work of the Department of Justice will continue to be undermined without a permanent replacement for Attorney General Holder.

Lynch is a nominee of the highest caliber with bipartisan support and the endorsements of both civil rights leaders and law enforcement officials. 

For the Republican leadership to continue to delay and oppose her confirmation at every turn is an abdication of its responsibility to govern. Senators, don’t go home without putting this nomination up for a vote.”  

Wade Henderson is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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