Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, has been known to give some legendary speeches on Capitol Hill and on Wednesday, he was at it again.
This time, Durbin scolded Republicans for how they’ve handled the nomination of Loretta Lynch, who would become the nation’s first black female attorney general.
A vote was planned this week, but was delayed when the Senate couldn’t finish work on a human trafficking bill. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he wouldn’t allow a vote on Lynch’s confirmation until the trafficking bill was finished.
“There is no substantive reason to stop this nomination,” Durbin said.
“And so, Loretta Lynch, the first African-American woman nominated to be attorney general, is asked to sit in the back of the bus when it comes to the Senate calendar. That is unfair. It’s unjust. It is beneath the decorum and dignity of the United States Senate. This woman deserves fairness.”
Outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder also piled on during a speech Wednesday on the My Brother’s Keeper initiative at the Center for American Progress in Washington, saying he’s “feeling love” from the GOP.
“Given the Senate’s scheduling and delays in considering Loretta Lynch’s nomination for a vote, it’s almost as if the Republicans in Congress have discovered a new fondness for me. I’m feeling love there that I haven’t felt for some time,” Holder joked, according to The Hill.
“Where was all this affection for the last six years?” Holder asked.
