Ted Cruz Skips Loretta Lynch Confirmation Vote
*Loretta Lynch’s nomination and confirmation vote was historic in many ways: the first black woman nominated to the position of attorney general; she replaces the first black man to serve in that position; and her confirmation was delayed for five months, the longest wait ever. Of the three Latino U.S. Senators, Cruz was a no-show for the vote, he was at a fund-raiser for his presidential campaign. VL
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Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, arguably the chief Republican opponent of the nomination of Loretta Lynch as U.S. attorney general, was the only senator to opt out of Thursday’s historic 56-43 vote, in which the Senate confirmed Lynch as the first African-American woman to lead the U.S. Department of Justice.
Cruz had left Washington prior to the vote so he could attend a Dallas fundraiser for his presidential campaign. But one of his aides sought to downplay Cruz’s absence, characterizing Lynch’s confirmation — after a 167-day delay — as a done deal following a procedural vote earlier Thursday, in which Cruz had participated.
“If the Senate could get 60 votes for cloture, they could get 51 for final confirmation,” Cruz spokeswoman Amanda Carpenter tweeted after Democrats and the media noticed Cruz’s absence. “Cloture is the only vote that mattered.”
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[Photo by Gage Skidmore/Flickr]
