WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Josh Earnest tore into Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Thursday for saying that it’s Democrats’ fault that U.S. attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch has stalled in the Senate. Republicans have dragged out Lynch’s confirmation process since she was nominated in November, most recently tying her vote to passage of an unrelated human trafficking bill that’s hit a snag. That bill isn’t moving, so neither is Lynch. Asked Thursday about the path forward, Earnest unexpectedly unleashed on Grassley, who went on TV earlier Thursday and said that if Democrats had really wanted Lynch to be confirmed, they should have brought up her nomination in November or December, when they had a majority in the…
WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Josh Earnest tore into Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Thursday for saying that it’s Democrats’ fault that U.S. attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch has stalled in the Senate.
Republicans have dragged out Lynch’s confirmation process since she was nominated in November, most recently tying her vote to passage of an unrelated human trafficking bill that’s hit a snag. That bill isn’t moving, so neither is Lynch.
Asked Thursday about the path forward, Earnest unexpectedly unleashed on Grassley, who went on TV earlier Thursday and said that if Democrats had really wanted Lynch to be confirmed, they should have brought up her nomination in November or December, when they had a majority in the Senate.
“The Democrats were in control of the Congress and they decided not to bring her up,” Grassley said in an appearance on Bloomberg’s “Market Makers.”
Earnest seemed beside himself.
“That, in my mind, is an astounding display of duplicity,” he said.
Earnest pointed out that Grassley was among many Republicans last fall who insisted that President Barack Obama push Lynch’s confirmation hearing into the new Congress, so that new members — and a likely GOP-controlled Senate — could oversee her nomination process.
The Hill reported as much in November, when a Grassley aide said the senator preferred waiting until January to begin Lynch’s hearings, and said Grassley is “not somebody who’s going to jam people.” In September, Grassley himself said it was important for Obama to “take his time” in picking a replacement for departing Attorney General Eric Holder, “rather than rush a nominee through the Senate in a lame-duck session.”
Earnest said Grassley’s change of tune is “exhibit A on why it is very challenging to work with congressional Republicans.” He called it “sad” that Grassley is misleading people, since he has a reputation back home in Iowa as “somebody who is true to his word.”
“The only conclusion I can draw from this is it’s possible Sen. Grassley has been in Washington for too long,” said Earnest.
Grassley spokeswoman Beth Levine said in response that the White House is “rewriting history.”
She said Democrats didn’t push Lynch’s nomination to this year to help Republicans, but because they wanted to spend the lame-duck session confirming a series of federal judges.
“It was Lynch or judges. They chose judges,” said Levine, pointing to a Washington Post story from last month quoting Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) as saying that the decision “was a very good trade-off.”
Levine chided Earnest for “lodging personal attacks against a highly respected senator,” and said the White House should be spending its time convincing Senate Democrats to let the trafficking bill pass. That bill, and its controversial abortion provision, has nothing to do with Lynch. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said it must pass before Lynch can get a vote.
“Maybe at that point, Senate Democrats would stop filibustering a bill that would help end sex slavery and human trafficking and the Senate could then turn to the Lynch nomination,” she said.
Democrats may have something up their sleeves to force a vote on Lynch.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday that if McConnell doesn’t schedule a vote on Lynch soon, he’ll do it himself.
“I know parliamentary procedure around here and we’re going to put up with this for a little while longer, but not much,” Reid said in an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. “Absolutely we can force votes. If we don’t get something done soon, I will force a vote.”
Any senator can call up a nominee that’s been set on the executive calendar. Reid plans to make a motion to move the Senate onto the executive calendar and take up Lynch’s nomination if McConnell doesn’t schedule a vote on Lynch “very, very soon,” said Adam Jentleson, a spokesman for Reid.
It only takes a simple majority to proceed with these steps, so if Democrats go this route, the Senate will head into executive session and Reid will set up a procedural vote to take up Lynch the following day.
Lynch appears to have the votes to be confirmed, whenever she does get a vote. If confirmed, she will be the first African-American woman to become U.S. attorney general.
“I had a conversation today with a number of Republicans and told them really to get her done,” Reid told Maddow, “or I will make sure they will have an opportunity to vote against her.”
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White House Spokesman Slams Chuck Grassley For ‘Duplicity’ On Loretta Lynch Delays
