Sen. Mitch McConnell warned Senate Democrats Friday against trying to push through President Obama’s choice to replace Eric Holder as attorney general during the lame-duck session of Congress.
After the White House Friday night announced Obama’s plans to name Brooklyn-based U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch as his nominee, McConnell, R-Ky., issued a sternly worded warning.
“Ms. Lynch will receive fair consideration by the Senate,” the newly minted Senate Majority Leader said. “And her nomination should be considered in the new Congress through regular order.”
Two Democratic sources familiar with the nominations process told the Washington Examiner on Friday night that it’s unclear whether Obama and Senate Democrats will try to push through Lynch’s confirmation during the lame-duck when Democrats still control the chamber.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who chairs the Judiciary Committee, did not indicate how and when he plans to move her nomination in his statement reacting to Obama’s decision to choose Lynch, saying only that she should be approved “in a reasonable time period.”
“Ms. Lynch is an experienced prosecutor, and if confirmed, she will make history as the first African-American woman to lead the Department of Justice,” Leahy said.
“As the body that considers the President’s nominee, the Senate has an important role in this debate, and that process begins in the Judiciary Committee. I have spoken with the President about the need to confirm our next attorney general in a reasonable time period, and I look forward to beginning that process.”
Usually, attorney general confirmations take six to seven weeks and several lengthy hearings in which the nominee is subjected to intensive and often heated questioning.
If Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., decides to move Lynch’s nomination during the lame-duck — even if he plans to hold the first hearing — it would consume precious time for other Democratic priorities, such as approving more than a hundred Obama nominations for judicial, ambassadorial and other administration positions.
Since Tuesday’s Democratic electoral drubbing, Obama also has set out several must-pass priorities for the lame-duck session, including passing an omnibus spending bill to keep the government funded through the fiscal year, additional funds to fight the spread of Ebola, $5.6 billion in additional funds to fight the Islamic State, and a new authorization for the use of military force in Syria and Iraq.
Obama plans to formally announce Lynch’s nomination during a ceremony in the White House Roosevelt Room late Saturday morning.
