Dick Durbin: “it has been 165 days--5\1/2\ months--since the nomination of Loretta Lynch to be Attorney General was announced. Ms.…”

“it has been 165 days--5\1/2\ months--since the nomination of Loretta Lynch to be Attorney General was announced. Ms. Lynch has been pending on the Senate Executive Calendar for nearly 2 months. She was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee in a bipartisan vote--nine Democrats and three Republicans--on February 26. This is a new record, sadly, in terms of delay in appointing an Attorney General. The last seven nominees to be Attorney General of the United States combined--combined--waited on the Senate floor 24 days-- seven nominees, 24 days. Sadly, Ms. Lynch has now been waiting over 50 days. Why? What is it about this nominee that causes so much of a problem? Nothing came up at the Judiciary Committee hearing to suggest a problem. Yes, she was appointed by Barack Obama. Yes, she has said she will serve this President. But when it came to her personally, there was nothing. In fact, we have this tradition that after the nominee has testified under oath, then experts are brought in. Each party can bring an expert in to testify for or against the Attorney General nominee. Senator Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat on Judiciary, said to the assembled group-- I think there may have been 10 or 12 of these outside witnesses: Which of you, by show of hands, objects to the nomination of Loretta Lynch for Attorney General? Not a single one raised his hand--none.…”