Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, the most senior Republican in the Senate, has thrown his support behind President Barack Obama's attorney general nominee, U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch.
Hatch, a leading member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that 55-year-old Lynch would make an excellent replacement for embattled Attorney General Eric Holder, according to
CNN.
"She appears to be a very top-flight person," Hatch said. "And if conservatives do want to get rid of the attorney general, this is a good option because she would replace him and do a very a good job."
Holder has been a figure of controversy with the GOP ever since he took over as head of the Justice Department early in the Obama presidency.
The House even voted to hold him in contempt of Congress in 2012 for refusing to turn over documents linked to the gun-running Operation Fast and Furious, according to CNN.
"I happen to think the attorney general has not done a great job, but I like him personally a lot," Hatch said, while adding that Lynch’s nomination “looks pretty good to me."
Lynch, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, was nominated by Obama last month. Twice before, she’s been quickly approved by the Senate during nominations as a federal prosecutor.
Hatch, who has chaired the judiciary committee several times during the past 20 years, revealed that he has not yet met with Lynch, while joking, “I guess I'm not important enough."
Hatch says he plans to meet with Lynch before her confirmation hearing, as is traditional in most cases with committee members, CNN reported.
"I'm somebody who wants to support the president on these matters," Hatch said. "I think probably she feels like she's had a lot of people she needs to meet with right off the bat. And that's fine with me."