GOP senators block Cruz move to hold up Lynch vote

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s strategy of blocking a vote on President Barack Obama’s 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 Cruz’s proposal for denying Loretta Lynch a confirmation vote in the Judiciary Committee and on the Senate floor as part of the Texas firebrand’s strategy to use “every procedural tool” at the Senate’s disposal to override Obama’s actions, which could affect nearly 5 million undocumented immigrants.


Disagreement with Cruz’s latest tactic was voiced by Republicans who both support and oppose Lynch’s 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.

“Republicans have been complaining about Eric Holder for a long time; this is an opportunity to make that change,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who plans to vote for Lynch. “I don’t think we should delay it at all. I think we ought to get her over there and get her working.”

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, Cruz’s home-state colleague, announced Wednesday that he’ll oppose Lynch’s nomination based on her testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee supporting Obama’s sweeping immigration moves, as well as other Obama administration policies. But Lynch getting a vote should not hinge on Obama’s executive actions, Cornyn said: “I would not couple those two, personally.”

And Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), asked about Cruz’s effort, responded: “That’s not my position.” Flake has also said that he will support Lynch. “The president ought to get his people as long as there’s no disqualifying substance there, and I don’t think there is with her.”

Congressional Republicans upset with Obama’s unilateral immigration actions have looked for different venues to litigate that fight – 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 Obama’s immigration actions through the must-pass legislation — 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 Obama’s unilateral actions, which would grant protections from deportations and work permits for millions who are here illegally.

But it’s not going anywhere.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said Lynch will “absolutely” get a vote in the Senate and declined to comment further Wednesday. A GOP aide said that Lynch’s confirmation track will proceed separately from the immigration battle, given the long history of the Senate granting votes on the president’s cabinet-level nominees.

Some senators were noncommittal about Cruz’s plan. Sessions, who has allied with Cruz on several key immigration battles in the Senate, said he hadn’t thought through the Texas Republican’s idea and declined to endorse it one way or the other.

“The 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,” he said. “So I respect Senator Cruz; I think the Congress does have the power of confirmation, but it should weigh it carefully.”

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.

“A part of what we’ve talked about here is getting back to moving things and having people have an opportunity to vote,” he said. “We should go through the process, regardless of how a member may feel about the confirmation.”

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was more blunt when asked about Cruz’s tactical suggestion: “I don’t think that works.”

“I don’t think they’re connected,” McCain continued. “I think we have an advise and consent role, and she should be judged on her merits or demerits.”