Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has been one of the most vocal opponents of Loretta Lynch's confirmation as attorney general, but didn't stick around for the final vote that
saw her confirmed on Thursday.
"My vote on Loretta Lynch is going to be unambiguously no. Unequivocal," Cruz told a crowd at the
Republican Leadership Summit in Nashua, N.H., on Saturday.
Cruz did vote against Lynch in the cloture vote to bring the nomination to the floor. The cloture vote required 60 votes, and the final vote only 51.
It was for that reason that Cruz didn't participate in the final vote since Lynch could easily get 51 votes if she already had gotten more than 60, a Cruz spokeswoman Amanda Carpenter said on Twitter.
"As you know Sen. Cruz led the charge to oppose her nomination," a statement from the Cruz camp read. "Those responsible for her confirmation are the ones who voted for cloture."
Cruz spoke forcefully against Lynch's nomination on the Senate floor just three hours before the final vote, but reportedly had to catch a flight to Texas for a prior commitment.
RealClearPolitics' Rebecca Berg later tweeted that the prior commitment appeared to be a fundraiser for his presidential campaign. Cruz was the only senator to skip the vote, which saw Lynch confirmed 56-43. Ten Republicans joined 46 Democrats to confirm Lynch.
"Eric Holder began disregarding the Constitution and laws after he was confirmed as attorney general," Cruz said on the Senate floor Thursday morning. "Ms. Lynch has told the Senate that's what she's going to do. And that means each and every one of us bears responsibility. In my view, no senator can vote for this confirmation consistent with his or her oath."
Cruz also was the only senator to skip a vote on the human trafficking bill earlier this week that had held up Lynch's confirmation vote,
Politico reported. That bill passed 99-0.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.