Several news organizations have reported that President Obama will nominate Loretta Lynch to serve as the next attorney general.
From the Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. attorney Loretta Lynch has emerged as the leading choice to be the next attorney general, but people with knowledge of his plans say President Barack Obama is not ready to announce a nomination and is abandoning the option to push for confirmation this year while Democrats still control the Senate. [...]
Lynch, the U.S. attorney for Eastern New York, would be the first black female to lead the Justice Department if she ends up being the choice. The sources who described Obama’s plans did so on condition of anonymity without authorization to speak on the record.
The Associated Press also reports that the president will not push for her confirmation during the lame duck session. According to the Press, the White House will not push for her confirmation now because doing so could expose her to “claims of illegitimacy and a hostile oversight committee for the next two years.”
I believe she will face “claims of illegitimacy and a hostile oversight committee” regardless of when she is nominated and confirmed, but I also think it is in her best interest if she is confirmed during the next session. She will become a proxy for attacking the president either way, but it could be even worse if she was confirmed now.
There’s obviously a chance that the Republican-controlled Congress won’t confirm her, but that carries it’s own risks for the Republican party.
For their part, the Associated Press also reported that congressional Democrats, who will still be the majority for the next two months, told the White House that it would be difficult to confirm a nominee during the lame duck.