GOP senators block Ted Cruz move to hold up Loretta Lynch vote
Texas Sen. Ted Cruzâs strategy of blocking a vote on President Barack Obamaâs attorney general nominee until the White House relents on immigration executive actions ran into a brick wall Wednesday: his own GOP colleagues. Republican senators dismissed Cruzâs proposal for denying Loretta Lynch a confirmation vote in the Judiciary Committee and on the Senate floor as part of the Texas firebrandâs strategy to use âevery procedural toolâ at the Senateâs disposal to override Obamaâs actions, which could affect nearly 5 million undocumented immigrants. Story Continued Below Disagreement with Cruzâs latest tactic was voiced by Republicans who both support and oppose Lynchâs nomination to succeed Attorney General Eric Holder, and came despite the fact that other ways of expressing GOP opposition to the immigration moves have hit roadblocks. âRepublicans have been complaining about Eric Holder for a long time; this is an opportunity to make that change,â said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who plans to vote for Lynch. âI donât think we should delay it at all. I think we ought to get her over there and get her working.â Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, Cruzâs home-state colleague, announced Wednesday that heâll oppose Lynchâs nomination based on her testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee supporting Obamaâs sweeping immigration moves, as well as other Obama administration policies. But Lynch getting a vote should not hinge on Obamaâs executive actions, Cornyn said: âI would not couple those two, personally.â And Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), asked about Cruzâs effort, responded: âThatâs not my position.â Flake has also said that he will support Lynch. âThe president ought to get his people as long as thereâs no disqualifying substance there, and I donât think there is with her.â Congressional Republicans upset with Obamaâs unilateral immigration actions have looked for different venues to litigate that fight â including nominations and, currently, a high-stakes battle over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which houses the agencies that will oversee the actions. Several Republicans have expressed opposition to Lynch based on her view that the immigration policies Obama issued last fall were legal and constitutional. Among the Senate Republicans set to oppose her are Cruz, Cornyn, Jeff Sessions of Alabama, David Vitter of Louisiana and Mike Lee of Utah. Still, Lynch should have enough votes to clear the committee. The committee vote on Lynch is not expected until after the mid-February congressional recess, which could bring her nomination to the Senate floor in early March. The Senate is locked in a stalemate over the DHS funding bill because Republicans are pushing to block Obamaâs immigration actions through the must-pass legislation â a move vigorously opposed by Democrats. So Cruz on Tuesday laid out his proposal for Lynch as a way to offer another avenue for Republicans to express outrage over Obamaâs unilateral actions, which would grant protections from deportations and work permits for millions who are here illegally. But itâs not going anywhere. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said Lynch will âabsolutelyâ get a vote in the Senate and declined to comment further Wednesday. A GOP aide said that Lynchâs confirmation track will proceed separately from the immigration battle, given the long history of the Senate granting votes on the presidentâs cabinet-level nominees. Some senators were noncommittal about Cruzâs plan. Sessions, who has allied with Cruz on several key immigration battles in the Senate, said he hadnât thought through the Texas Republicanâs idea and declined to endorse it one way or the other. âThe nominee publicly supports and says she would defend actions by the president that I think is unlawful, so that raises real questions, and people can see it in different ways,â he said. âSo I respect Senator Cruz; I think the Congress does have the power of confirmation, but it should weigh it carefully.â Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a member of the Judiciary Committee who said Wednesday he was still undecided on whether to back Lynch, indicated in a brief interview that he still wants to see the confirmation process move along for the federal prosecutor. âA part of what weâve talked about here is getting back to moving things and having people have an opportunity to vote,â he said. âWe should go through the process, regardless of how a member may feel about the confirmation.â Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was more blunt when asked about Cruzâs tactical suggestion: âI donât think that works.â âI donât think theyâre connected,â McCain continued. âI think we have an advise and consent role, and she should be judged on her merits or demerits.â