But Sen. John Thune, who serves as chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, said Tuesday that while he expects Lynch will be grilled “about the legality and the constitutionality of that [executive] action,” he does not expect Republicans to derail her nomination over the issue.
“I mean, we have to have an attorney general,” Thune said. “Now, I don’t think there’s any sense of urgency. Eric Holder hasn’t said he’s going anywhere, I think he’s said he’s going to stay around, so it’s not like the position is vacant. … Like I said, we’ll give her fair consideration, she’ll get asked hard questions. But I don’t think there’s going to be any retaliation [for the executive action] or any discussion of that. That’s not something that’s come up in any conversation I’ve been a part of.”
Thune also pointed out that Lynch has been confirmed by the Senate multiple times before, albeit for lower-level judicial positions. And, what’s more, Republicans aren’t exactly itching to keep Holder in place as attorney general.
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