We have a new attorney general taking Eric Holder’s place. Although conservatives are glad to see him go, we can’t expect Lynch to be that much different. The two of them were chosen by the same president, for the same reasons. The final count of the vote was 56-43 to confirm Lynch. This is by far the closest vote to confirm a presidential appointment in modern times. Generally, congress approves any presidential nomination within reason, so long as they feel the appointed person is qualified and can competently perform the job, whether said appointee shares their exact political views or not.
Lynch, however, very nearly didn’t get through due to conservative opposition. Make no mistake; Lynch is loyal to Obama. Her job as the state attorney is to enforce the constitution and see that the law is upheld and the freedoms of the American people are not infringed upon. Many Republicans and conservatives are concerned that like her predecessor, she will simply overlook constitutional law when there is political gain to be had by her boss. Like many of Obama’s top staff, we can expect Lynch to be used a shield for him. Lynch is strongly against medical marijuana and wants distributors even in states where it has been legalized to be federally prosecuted. This is he opposite of what Obama promised his party, but very much in line with what he actually did. Lynch’s confirmation came 160 days after she was first nominated due to endless debate in the senate and a stalemate on another issue.
Yesterday, Democrats invoked cloture by a 66-34 vote, forcing the debate to stop and a final vote to take place. Senator Ted Cruz made an impassioned speech on the senate floor just hours before the final vote, urging his fellow Republicans to stop Lynch from becoming attorney general. Cruz has been vary critical of Lynch, leading the charge to keep her out of office. During the question-and-answer period, Cruz had asked her if she would support Obama’s amnesty, to which she replied, “absolutely.”
He continued to prod Lynch about how much power Obama should be given through executive order. After questioning, he said, “In my view, when you have an attorney general nominee who looks at the United States Senate and says he or she will not enforce any constitutional limits whatsoever on the part of the president, there is no way in good conscience…to vote to confirm such a nominee.”
After cloture was invoked and senators knew the final vote would be soon, Cruz did something a disappointing.
He left the senate building and flew home for a fundraiser, skipping the final vote.
Ten Republicans, including Mitch McConnell, Thad Cochran, and Lindsey Graham broke ranks and voted with the Democrats to confirm her nomination.