NATION BIPARTISANSHIP:
Bipartisan deal reached; vote could come by Thursday
Senators announced a bipartisan agreement Tuesday that will break a logjam over an anti-trafficking bill and allow a vote on Loretta Lynch, President Barack Obama’s long-stalled nominee for attorney general.
WASHINGTON — For more than five months, Loretta Lynch, the U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn, has been waiting for Senate confirmation to start work as the first African-American woman to serve as the nation’s top law enforcement officer.
On Tuesday, after senators broke a logjam in an unrelated controversy over abortion, it appeared Lynch will soon be able to move to Washington and take over as the next attorney general.
At least 51 out of 100 senators have pledged to support her in a vote that Senate aides now say is likely by Thursday.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced a bipartisan agreement Tuesday that ended a political struggle over a bill to fight sex trafficking. McConnell had previously insisted that the issue be resolved before Lynch could get a vote.
“As soon as we finish the trafficking bill, as I’ve indicated for some time now, we’ll move to the president’s nominee for attorney general — hopefully in the next day or so,” McConnell said in announcing the agreement.
The trafficking bill stalled over Democrats’ objections to a provision they said would expand abortion restrictions for victims of sex trade.
The compromise — forged by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Patty Murray, D-Wash. — allowed both sides to save face on a once-uncontroversial bill to help sex-trafficking victims that had turned into a litmus test on abortion.
“I’m thrilled we were finally able to come together to break the impasse over this vital legislation, and I look forward to swift passage in the Senate so we can ensure victims of human trafficking receive the resources they need to restore their lives,” Cornyn said.
Under the compromise, senators agreed that none of the restitution money paid into a victims’ fund by those convicted of human trafficking would be used for health care services, averting a broader debate over whether the bill was expanding abortion restrictions.
Instead, health services will be provided to victims with separate government funds that are already subject to limits on abortions except in cases of rape, incest or a threat on the life of the mother, as outlined under the so-called Hyde amendment that covers federal abortion policy.
Obama spokesman Josh Earnest said the White House was reserving judgment until it had a chance to review the final language in the deal, but he also said the endorsement from some Democrats was “certainly an encouraging sign.”
“If we see strong Democratic support, including from champions for women’s health care like Patty Murray, that certainly seems like the kind of thing the president would be able to support,” Earnest said.
The delay since Lynch was nominated last fall has provoked increasingly agitated protests from Democrats and President Barack Obama, who last week called the situation “embarrassing,” even though Democrats had controlled the Senate for part of that time and had failed to bring her up for a vote.
Though Republicans had come under fire for linking the trafficking bill to Lynch’s confirmation, McConnell defended his decision in a meeting with reporters Tuesday afternoon.
“I’m happy with where we are,” McConnell said. “We needed to finish the trafficking bill. It was an important bill.”
Lynch, who would become the nation’s first black female attorney general, replacing Eric Holder, is now the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. She has been waiting 164 days for a vote, far longer than most other recent attorney general nominees.
“Let’s get out of this quickly,” said Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada. “Let’s get Loretta Lynch confirmed.”
A vote on final passage of the trafficking bill was expected as early as Wednesday, and the vote on Lynch could come as early as Thursday, though timing was still being worked out.
She is expected to win confirmation with at least five Republicans supporting her. Although her record is widely praised, a number of Republicans have said they can’t support her because she backs Obama’s moves on immigration.
Associated Press contributed.