Sen. Cruz: Senate Should Not Confirm Loretta Lynch

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, today issued the following statement on the nomination of Loretta Lynch to be U.S. Attorney General:

"Senate Republicans had ample opportunity to stop the nomination of Loretta Lynch as Attorney General and demand that the President nominate someone who will respect the rule of law. I oppose cloture on her nomination because it creates a path for the Democrats to confirm the nominee with a simple majority. While Ms. Lynch has earned a reputation as a no-nonsense prosecutor, her consistent refusal to specify any limitations on the power of the President disqualify her from serving as our nation's chief law enforcement officer. In multiple rounds of testimony before the Judiciary Committee, Ms. Lynch would not identify a single instance in which her actions would differ from Attorney General Eric Holder, and she supported the Administration's boundless legal theory to justify ignoring our nation's immigration laws. In my view, this makes her unfit to be the Attorney General.

"There is a reason the Senate is given constitutional authority over ‘advice and consent.' We were not elected to be a ‘fraternal order,' as Reagan famously put it. We were elected to defend the Constitution. It is a somber occasion to vote ‘no' today. But, a cloture vote in favor of an Attorney General who has shown she will be a rubber stamp for executive power is simply not compatible with our sworn duty as US Senators-which is to support and defend the Constitution."

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