Cornyn: ‘Zero’ pressure to vote on Lynch nomination

by Jordain Carney - 03/19/15 6:47 PM ET

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Republicans are feeling “zero” pressure to bring Loretta Lynch’s attorney general nomination up for a vote.

“Zero,” Cornyn told reporters when asked how much, if any, pressure Republicans were feeling. Asked to explain why, he added: “Well, because it’s zero. … We have an African-American attorney general currently serving, so there’s no vacancy.”

{mosads}Attorney General Eric Holder, who has been unpopular with congressional Republicans, is expected to stay in the position until a successor is confirmed. But Cornyn suggested that continuing to have to work with Holder wasn’t reason enough to bring Lynch’s nomination up quickly.

“We’ve been stuck for him for a long time,” he said. “I didn’t vote for him when he was confirmed, so my records pretty clear on that.”

The Senate was originally expected to vote on the Lynch’s nomination this week, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said her nomination wouldn’t get a vote until after senators pass a stalled proposal to curb human trafficking.

Democrats are blocking that legislation, the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, because of inclusion of the Hyde Amendment, which restricts funding for abortions.

Cornyn reiterated that Democrats would get a vote on Lynch’s nomination only after the anti-trafficking legislation, which he introduced, is passed.

“I think that’s clearly something the Democrats want to move on,” he said. “We’ll give them that opportunity as soon as we pass this legislation.”

Cornyn suggested Republicans can’t allow Democrats to break the Senate.

“We can’t allow the Senate be broken like this as a result of the failed leadership tactics of Senator Reid and his leadership that resulted in them losing the majority,” he said. “Now they’re doing the same thing this year trying to make the Senate not function.”

Tags Eric Holder John Cornyn Loretta Lynch