Her nomination represents an important shift for a White House that has tended to nominate those from within its own ranks for high-level positions. The administration had an array of candidates who had experience in the White House or at Main Justice, but the Lynch nomination signals that the administration is looking for new leaders from outside its own ranks to step up and take the helm in the final two years of the administration.

This independence is particularly important for the Attorney General because she may have to prosecute cases that are deeply unpopular. Lynch prosecuted both Republican and Democratic politicians on corruption charges and her lack of experience in the administration is actually a plus; she comes to the job with an integrity and independence that is owed to her rise through the ranks of a U.S. Attorney’s office. When President George W. Bush was sworn in 2001, Lynch had hoped to stay on as the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District because, she said, ''There's a good group of people working here: the prosecutors, judges, agents and investigators.” For her, this was more than a job; ''It's a like a family. I'll miss the people most of all.'' Bush asked for Lynch’s resignation but her willingness to serve under a Republican president demonstrates that she is not a political operative; she has sincerely dedicated her career to the Department of Justice.

The longevity of her experience at the U.S. Attorney’s office has equipped her to handle the wide range of cases that the attorney general handles. After joining the U.S. Attorney’s office in 1990, she served as the deputy of the office at a time when she handled an array of cases that, the New York Times reported, “involved Hasidic Jews who worked as drug couriers; the commander of the government's antidrug war in Colombia, who never reported that his wife was smuggling heroin; and a volunteer Republican fund-raiser accused of campaign corruption.” Lynch became well-known for her prosecution of the NYPD officers who used a stick to sodomize a Haitian immigrant, Abner Louima. During her prosecution, one officer plead guilty and the others were convicted but she took steps to ensure that the case was not what she called a “referendum on race.”

Of course, part of the reason that Lynch’s nomination is historic is because, if confirmed, she will be the first African-American woman to serve as attorney general. The Department of Justice has been the federal agency most heavily responsible for ensuring the advancement of civil rights for African-Americans in the United States. Lynch herself had to overcome racism to get where she is today; she recalled having to retake a test at her predominantly white elementary school in North Carolina because her score was considered too high— when she retook it, she did even better.