On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee is set to hold its first day of hearings on the nomination of Loretta Lynch, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, to be the next U.S. attorney general,
USA Today reported.
If confirmed to succeed Attorney General Eric Holder, she would be the first African-American woman to hold the post.
Lynch has a "reputation for quiet efficiency," according to USA Today. Rather than hog the limelight, she has put forth junior lawyers to handle some high-profile cases. Known for being a master courtroom tactician, she also serves on the influential Attorney General's Advisory Committee.
She was first appointed by President Bill Clinton to be the Eastern District's federal attorney.
Lynch returned to the office after being appointed by President Barack Obama. Her jurisdiction covers the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island as well as nearby Long Island.
Paul Fishman, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, said that the Senate panel "will meet someone who is extremely thoughtful, very bright and has tremendous dedication.''
Fishman, who has know Lynch for some 15 years added, "It's always about the work for Loretta, never about her," USA Today reported.
Lynch has managed any number of high-profile cases. She helped to send over a dozen members of the Green Dragons, an Asian street gang, to prison. In 1997, her office prosecuted a police officer, Justin Volpe, for sodomizing Abner Louima with a broom handle in a Brooklyn police station.
The case involving a white police officer and a black victim drew national attention, according to the
New York Daily News.
The nominee grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina, where her father was a Baptist minister and her mother a school librarian. She went on to become an outstanding student at Harvard,where she earned both undergraduate and law degrees.
"Her life represents the American dream,'' said Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson, who worked for Lynch in the federal prosecutors office. "No one gave Loretta anything," he told USA Today.
Louisiana Republican Sen. David Vitter said he would oppose Lynch's confirmation to protest Obama's executive actions on illegal immigration.
"The attorney general is one of the linchpins to Obama's amnesty plan, and I'll be working to get the new Congress to block this nomination," according to USA Today.
The nominee is nonetheless expected to be confirmed, USA Today reported.