Senator Bob Corker on Tuesday announced he will oppose the nomination of Loretta Lynch to be attorney general of the United States.
“The job of the U.S. attorney general is to enforce federal laws as written, not as the administration wishes they were written,” said Senator Corker. “While I believe Ms. Lynch is an impressive attorney and a committed public servant, nothing revealed during our personal meeting or at her confirmation hearing has assured me that she will be an independent attorney general and refrain from selective enforcement of the law, and therefore I will not be supporting her confirmation.”
Senator Lamar Alexander announced his opposition as well.
He released the following statement:
“I will vote against President Obama’s nomination of Loretta Lynch for attorney general of the United States. This is an opportunity, within the Senate rules, to express my disapproval of the president’s abuse of executive authority, and it’s an opportunity I intend to take. "
Senator Alexander said that Ms. Lynch's confirmation "should be decided by a majority vote of senators, as cabinet nominations have been decided throughout the history of the Senate.” On Feb. 4, Senator Alexander and Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced legislation to establish by Senate rule the Senate tradition of approving presidential nominations by a simple majority vote, rather than the 60 votes it would take to end a filibuster. Senator Alexander said that, according to information compiled by the Senate historian and the Congressional Research Service, in the entire history of the U.S. Senate since Thomas Jefferson wrote the rules in 1789, no cabinet nominee has ever been denied confirmation by requiring 60 votes to end a filibuster.