White House calls delay on confirming Loretta Lynch 'unconscionable'
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
President Obama's attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch has been in limbo for 128 days now, a situation White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest says is due to Senate Republicans "playing politics."
"It's an unconscionable delay," Earnest said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said that Senate Democrats' refusal to pass a controversial human trafficking bill, being held up because of language that restricts abortion, "will have an impact on the timing of considering a new attorney general."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Lynch's confirmation was again stalled last week when Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) announced he would investigate her role in the HSBC Swiss Bank's tax-dodging scheme.
Politico reports that Lynch, who would be the first black woman to serve as U.S. attorney general, is in danger of losing the support of "wavering Republicans" the longer the confirmation process drags out, and that if she is confirmed, it's likely it would be with the fewest 'yes' votes in history.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Political cartoons for February 17Cartoons Tuesday’s political cartoons include a refreshing spritz of Pam, winter events, and more
-
Alexei Navalny and Russia’s history of poisoningsThe Explainer ‘Precise’ and ‘deniable’, the Kremlin’s use of poison to silence critics has become a ’geopolitical signature flourish’
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
-
US to send 200 troops to Nigeria to train armySpeed Read Trump has accused the West African government of failing to protect Christians from terrorist attacks
