Five Republican senators are set to back attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch as the confirmation vote goes down to the wire,
The Hill reported.
President Barack Obama’s pick is facing one of the closest Senate confirmation nomination votes in decades, and she will need the support of at least four Republicans to reach 50 votes. Vice President Joe Biden would then cast the tie-breaking vote.
The Hill says that GOP Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Jeff Flake of Arizona, Susan Collins of Maine and, more recently,
Mark Kirk of Illinois have indicated that they will vote for Lynch, but with some reservations.
The majority of Republican senators will be voting against Lynch to replace Attorney General Eric Holder because they feel that she will cave in to Obama’s demands on such issues as immigration and gun reform.
With
no actual date planned for the vote as yet, 25 Republicans have told the political news website that they plan to oppose her on the Senate floor, while conservative lawmakers are calling on all Republicans to reject her nomination.
"Republicans are eager to replace outgoing Holder, with whom they’ve had a contentious relationship," write The Hill’s Tim Devaney. "But many remain wary of his potential replacement, fearing that Lynch will not provide a strong and independent check on Obama's agenda."
The confirmation vote could become the closest in recent memory for an attorney general nominee, according to the report.
In 2007, Michael Mukasey was confirmed as President George W. Bush's attorney general with a 53-40 vote, the closest for the post in 50 years.
Holder won the support of most Republicans when he was easily confirmed as attorney general with a 75-21 Senate vote in 2009.
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