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In Delaying Vote on Loretta Lynch as Attorney General, G.O.P. Is in a Quandary
By Jonathan Weisman and Jennifer Steinhauer, March 29, 2015
Senate Republicans bolted for a two-week spring recess with the confirmation of Loretta E. Lynch as attorney general in jeopardy, and themselves in a quandary: Accept a qualified nominee they oppose because she backs President Obama’s policies or reject her and live with an attorney general they despise, Eric H. Holder Jr.
The nomination of Ms. Lynch, a seasoned United States attorney from New York, has laid bare the difficult politics confronting the new Republican majority. Lawmakers have found nothing in Ms. Lynch’s background to latch on to in opposition, and many are loath to reject the first African-American woman put forth to be the nation’s top law enforcement officer.
But, they say, their constituents have told them that a vote for Ms. Lynch affirms Mr. Obama’s executive actions on immigration, which she has said she finds lawful.
Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, now finds himself in the conundrum that has bedeviled his counterpart in the House, Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio: Members of his party will vote no on Ms. Lynch but hope “yes” — that she will squeak through.
“Perhaps she’ll be confirmed,” Senator Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi, said after a long pause and a deep audible breath, “but she won’t be confirmed with my vote. That’s what my constituents want of me, to make a stand against someone who has basically taken the position that the executive branch has unlimited, almost czarlike powers.”
A confirmation vote for Ms. Lynch, delayed longer than any other attorney general nominee in three decades, is vexing for a Republican Party seeking to counter accusations that it is indifferent to women and minorities.
Some Republicans concede Mr. Obama could not be expected to nominate an attorney general who rejects his policies. “The president is clearly going to nominate someone who’s most likely aligned with his policy positions,” said Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina.
At the same time, almost no one has an unkind word for Ms. Lynch. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Republican of West Virginia, said she could hardly expect a better nominee, “not in terms of qualifications or personal attributes.”
Yet, she cannot see herself voting for her.
Ms. Capito said she is holding out for the prospect that the president could offer a nominee not quite so stalwart in defense of the president’s policies.
“I would say it’s probably realistic to think somebody could convince me that they’re going to be more objective about it, yes,” Ms. Capito said.
The opposition to Ms. Lynch has raised the question of whether any significant nominee can be confirmed for the rest of Mr. Obama’s term.
“This shows you how difficult the whole nominating process is going to be,” said Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York.
So far, Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Orrin G. Hatch of Utah and Jeff Flake of Arizona are the only Republicans who have announced their intention to support her. That would allow Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to cast a tiebreaking vote.
But there is a complicating factor. Federal officials say Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, is considering abstaining from casting a vote on the attorney general, since he faces the threat of a federal indictment and his fate is tied to the Justice Department.
That would leave Democrats in need of one more vote — and most likely two. No Republican would relish being the lone deciding vote, nor do Republican leaders wish for the spectacle of Mr. Biden’s being whisked dramatically to Capitol Hill. Two Republican votes would be their preference.
The pressure has fallen on Senators Mark S. Kirk of Illinois, Dean Heller of Nevada, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Thad Cochran of Mississippi and Rob Portman of Ohio to announce their positions.
Mr. Kirk and Mr. Portman face re-election next year in states with large African-American populations. Mr. Cochran barely staved off a Tea Party challenger in his state’s Republican primary last year, winning only because black voters crossed party lines to support him.
Mr. Cochran, who said he could not recall if he had met with Ms. Lynch, said race would not be a consideration.
To Ms. Collins and Mr. Graham, the Republican opposition is mystifying, if for no other reason than Ms. Lynch’s confirmation would end the reign of Mr. Holder, who is widely disliked in conservative circles. Mr. Holder has said he will stay until a successor is confirmed.
“One of my arguments is that we need a change of leadership at the Justice Department, and here we have this very well qualified, 30-plus-year prosecutor who can step in and replace the current attorney general,” Ms. Collins said. “I think that’s a good thing from whatever perspective you look at it.”
Mr. Graham echoed the point: “I dread the thought of having a fight with Eric Holder for the next 20 months. It’s just not good for the country.”
Ms. Lynch’s wait for a confirmation, by the time the Senate returns in mid-April, will surpass Togo D. West Jr.’s 147-day wait to be President Bill Clinton’s secretary of veterans affairs, which was the longest for a cabinet-level nominee in the last three administrations.
For other nominees, signs of tension are already there: No judges have been confirmed in this Congress, compared with 15 during the same period in the 110th Congress, when Democrats were in the majority approving President George W. Bush’s nominees. That deficit is likely to grow.
In the end, Mr. Flake said, the votes are likely to be there for Ms. Lynch to prevail.
Mr. Kirk said that he had met at length with Ms. Lynch and that the president’s immigration policies had not come up.
“The entire conversation was focused on the Gangster Disciples, a criminal gang that has 18,000 members in Chicagoland,” he said, declining to say which way he was leaning. But, he added, “I found her answers related to gang violence pretty on the money.”
Senator Cory Gardner, Republican of Colorado, said he had received written answers to questions he asked Ms. Lynch on federalism, Washington’s legal supremacy and his state’s marijuana legalization.
Her answers, not necessarily her position on the president’s immigration actions, could determine his vote, he said.
For now, Republicans are clearly uncomfortable with their position, and many would like Mr. Holder out of office, even if they plan to vote against Ms. Lynch.
“I’m ready for him to leave also,” said Senator John Boozman, Republican of Arkansas and an opponent of Ms. Lynch’s confirmation. “I don’t want to argue. That’s where I’m at, and that’s where the people of Arkansas are.”
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