Loretta Lynch wins confirmation as attorney general

WASHINGTON -- Loretta Lynch won confirmation as the nation's first black female attorney general Thursday from a Senate that forced her to wait more than five months for the title and remained divided to the end.

The 56-43 vote installs Lynch, now U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, at the Justice Department to replace Eric Holder. Holder has served in the job throughout the Obama administration, becoming a lightning rod for conservatives who perceived him as overly political and liberal, and even getting held in contempt of Congress.

Lynch, 55, is seen as a no-nonsense prosecutor and has wide law-enforcement support. The issue that tore into her support with Republicans was immigration, and her refusal to denounce President Barack Obama's executive actions limiting deportations for millions of people living illegally in this country. Questioned on the issue at her confirmation hearing in January, she said she believed Obama's actions were reasonable and lawful.

Democrats criticized Republicans for using the issue against her, saying an executive branch nominee could not be expected to disagree strongly with the president who appointed her, but Republicans were unapologetic.

Announced GOP presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Lynch's comments rendered her "unsuitable for confirmation as attorney general of the United States. That was a shame."

Yet after returning from the campaign trail to rail against Lynch on the Senate floor Thursday, Cruz was the only senator absent when the vote was called.

He voted "no" on a procedural vote earlier in the day, which spokeswoman Amanda Carpenter insisted "was the vote that mattered."

She did not explain why Cruz missed the confirmation vote, but his campaign website showed he had a fundraiser in Dallas to attend.

Still, Lynch won the support of 10 Republicans, more than expected in the days heading into the vote.

In a surprise, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voted "yes."

Obama said the U.S. would be better off with Lynch.

In a speech to his advocacy group, Organizing for Action, Obama said Lynch had established credibility with both law-enforcement and civil-rights groups, adding he wanted to work with her to rebuild trust between police and communities in the U.S.

"She's spent her life fighting for the fair and equal justice that's the foundation of our democracy," Obama said.