Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Sunday that the confirmation of Loretta Lynch as attorney general may hinge on whether Congress works out its gridlock over a human trafficking bill.
"It's not a threat. We need to finish this human trafficking bill that came out of the Judiciary Committee unanimously ... because the next week we'll be doing the budget and the next two weeks after that Congress is not in session," McConnell said on CNN's "State of the Union."
The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, authored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), has been stalled after Democrats accused Republicans of sneaking anti-abortion language into the bill. McConnell noted that Judiciary Committee Democrats unanimously agreed on the bill before forwarding it.
"They all voted for the very same language in a bill in December," he said.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called on McConnell to "keep his word" and not delay the vote on Lynch.
"By continuing to stall Lynch's nomination Republicans are failing yet another basic test of their ability to govern," according to a statement from Adam Jentleson, Reid's spokesman. "Lynch is extraordinarily qualified and there is no procedural excuse for further delay. Lynch's nomination can be brought to the floor at any time. There is nothing stopping the Senate from confirming Lynch and continuing to debate the trafficking bill this week, except Senator McConnell's unwillingness to bring her nomination up for a vote."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/03/15/mcconnell-no-loretta-lynch-confirmation-until-vote-on-human-trafficking-bill/
