Politics
Harry Reid Threatens Hardball Tactics to Get Lynch Vote
Loretta Lynch testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015 during her confirmation hearing before the committee. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
(Politico) – Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is warning he will use hardball floor tactics to force a vote on stalled attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch if Republicans don’t call her up for a vote “very soon.”
Because Lynch was approved by a Senate committee, her nomination could theoretically be called up by any senator with a majority vote, though such a move by anyone other than the majority leader is a serious breach of protocol. In a chamber where all senators wield significant power, great deference is usually paid to the majority party to set the Senate’s agenda.
But Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has tied Lynch’s nomination to a stalled trafficking bill, thereby delaying her confirmation and infuriating Democrats. Although talks picked up Thursday on how to resolve a dispute over the trafficking bill’s abortion language, which Democrats strongly oppose, an agreement remained elusive.
Lynch has now waited more than five months for a vote since being nominated on Nov. 8, 2014, and appears set to wait at least a few more days given the lack of a deal on the trafficking proposal.
