Loretta Lynch Now Has The Votes To Be AG, But Will McConnell Allow It?

WASHINGTON — Loretta Lynch received a boost recently when Republican Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois announced his support for her nomination as attorney general, bringing her tally to 51 supporters in the Senate. That's enough for the chief federal prosecutor in Brooklyn to win confirmation.

But the fate of the high-profile nomination rests with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who decides if and when she gets a vote and has delayed it indefinitely by entangling Lynch in an unrelated political battle over abortion.

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McConnell has made clear he won't bring up the nomination until Democrats agree to pass a stalled bill designed to combat sex trafficking, which they have repeatedly filibustered due to a provision that limits the ability of victims to use compensation funds for an abortion. Democrats say they'll support the bill without that provision, but Republicans insist on keeping it in the legislation.

The battle got ugly when Democrats, after voting for the bill in committee, said they discovered the anti-abortion provision and accused the GOP of sneaking it in. Republicans fumed that the legislation had been public for weeks. Since then the two parties have been at an impasse that shows no signs of abating.

McConnell is holding firm on his proposition. "Nothing new on that front," McConnell spokesman Don Stewart said.

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