[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 22 (Tuesday, February 10, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S877]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            LYNCH NOMINATION

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, almost 2 weeks ago the Attorney General 
nominee, Loretta Lynch, came before the Senate Judiciary Committee and 
testified for nearly 8 hours. As one who has heard Attorneys General 
nominees testify for the past 40 years, I cannot think of anybody who 
did a better job. She was clear and concise. She is a prosecutor's 
prosecutor. She has also responded to more than 600 written questions. 
Many of them have absolutely nothing to do with whether she is 
qualified for the job or not. But people felt they had to send in these 
questions for whatever reason--and she responded to them all, whether 
they were relevant or not. And when she is confirmed, she will be the 
first African-American woman to serve as the Attorney General of the 
United States in our Nation's history. A majority of members of the 
committee, both Republican and Democratic, have said they intend to 
support her confirmation. I am confident she has the votes to be 
confirmed by the full Senate.
  But as of today it has been 94 days since the President announced the 
nomination of Ms. Lynch. Her nomination has been pending longer than 
any modern Attorney General nominee. We should all be able to agree 
that confirming the top law enforcement position should be an urgent 
priority of the Senate. At a time when we face all kinds of threats 
from terrorists--both outside our borders and within our borders--we 
should all be united in confirming an Attorney General nominee like 
Loretta Lynch. She has the experience of successfully prosecuting 
numerous terrorists, people who others said we should be afraid to 
prosecute and that we should lock them up in Guantanamo in case they 
are not convicted. Ms. Lynch has obtained those convictions and those 
terrorist are locked away in Federal prisons right now.
  This Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee has the opportunity to 
vote on her nomination. I have heard that even though she has already 
waited longer than any other modern Attorney General nominee to be 
confirmed, some Republicans are considering delaying the important vote 
for her for two more weeks. Under our committee rule, they have the 
right to do so. But I urge them not to do so.
  Loretta Lynch's qualifications are beyond reproach. She has been 
confirmed by the Senate twice before to serve as the top federal 
prosecutor based in Brooklyn, NY, one of the most significant 
prosecutors' offices in this country. Incidentally, she was confirmed 
both times unanimously. Under her leadership, the U.S. Attorney's 
Office for the Eastern District of New York has brought terrorists to 
justice, obtained convictions against both Republicans and Democrats in 
public corruption cases, and fought tirelessly against violent crime 
and financial fraud. It would be hard to find any prosecutor in this 
country in any administration who has a better record than she does, 
and her record shows that as Attorney General, Ms. Lynch will 
effectively, fairly, and independently enforce the law.
  Now, thinking back to 2007 when Michael Mukasey was nominated by 
President Bush to serve as Attorney General. Now, President Bush was in 
the end of his term as President. The Democrats had taken over the 
majority in the Senate that year. I served as chairman of the Senate 
Judiciary Committee. President Bush talked to me and said: we need, of 
course, an Attorney General. I agreed. And I knew that like Ms. Lynch, 
Mr. Mukasey had been confirmed before by the Senate, and I also knew 
that this was coming toward the end of the Bush Presidency. Now, 
ultimately I voted against Mr. Mukasey because of his responses 
relating to questions on torture. But even though I was going to vote 
against him, I proceeded with his nomination in a very prompt manner.
  It took just 53 days from the announcement of Mr. Mukasey's 
nomination to his confirmation. It has been 94 days for Ms. Lynch. Her 
nomination is needlessly on track to take more than twice the amount of 
time it took a Democratic-led Senate to confirm President Bush's 
nominee. After Mr. Mukasey's hearing, Senate Democrats could have held 
his nomination over in committee, but we did not. In fact, I had to 
hold a special markup to report his nomination out of committee as soon 
as possible. And he was confirmed 2 days later. Republicans should 
extend the same courtesy to expedite Ms. Lynch's nomination, as we did 
to Mr. Mukasey's.
  Last week the Secretary of Defense nominee testified before the 
Senate Armed Services Committee--last week--and his nomination will be 
reported to the floor today. His nomination is expected to be confirmed 
by the end of the week. Now, I agree the Defense Secretary is a 
critically important position to fill, and I will vote for him. But so 
is the Nation's top law enforcement officer. I urge Senate Republicans 
to allow a vote on Ms. Lynch's nomination before we adjourn for a week-
long recess. Please, don't treat her differently than we treated Mr. 
Mukasey. We were able to give him an expedited procedure. She has 
already waited much longer than he did. Don't make her wait even 
longer.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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