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The Congressional Black Caucus is preparing a forceful lobbying push in support of President Barack Obama’s attorney general nominee.

Loretta Lynch was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday with three Republican votes. She is expected to win confirmation on the Senate floor, but a number of hardline conservatives are already opposing her over her stance on Obama’s immigration actions.

Black caucus chairman Rep. G.K. Butterfield argued in a letter to Senate leaders on Thursday that Lynch should be swiftly approved, touting her career as a New York prosecutor.

“In addition to having the perfect set of professional credentials, Loretta Lynch possesses high moral character and integrity. She is strong in her faith and demonstrates a love for her country in both her work and in the community,” the North Carolina Democrat wrote in a letter obtained by POLITICO.

The CBC isn’t directly citing Lynch’s race — she would be the first African American woman to serve as attorney general — as the reason Republicans oppose her nomination but argue that Lynch is facing much stiffer scrutiny than Ash Carter, the recently approved secretary of defense.

“I’m very very much concerned about her nomination. It’s been 101 days and counting and Ash Carter was 74 days. Something is not right,” said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.). (Lynch has actually been pending for 110 days as of Thursday.)

Republicans have rebuffed the comparisons to Carter. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said the new Pentagon chief had demonstrated some independence from Obama on defense policies, but in his view, Lynch had not on legal matters.

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) said the Congressional Black Caucus will lobby senators on backing Lynch for attorney general. “It would be a major step forward to have this woman – a woman of color” as attorney general, Lewis said. “It would send a strong message to America that we are making a major step forward.”

Butterfield and Democratic Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, Marcia Fudge of Ohio, Joyce Beatty of Ohio and Alma Adams of North Carolina all attended the Senate Judiciary hearing to support Lynch.

The push comes as Senate Democrats began to invoke the issues of race and gender in regards to Lynch’s nomination. Earlier Thursday, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) noted that near the 50th anniversary of the civil rights march in Selma, Alabama, it was “fundamentally unfair” to reject Lynch because she agrees with Obama’s immigration policies.

“This is a terrible, terrible trend,” said Cleaver. “I hope this is not just a continuation of this irrational hatred of the president that some of the Republicans [have].

Republicans have disputed any insinuations that the party was unfairly blocking Lynch because of her race or gender. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who voted in favor of her confirmation on Thursday, said the Democrats’ insinuation of a so-called double standard on her nomination was an “offensive and patently false innuendo.”

POLITICO

By Lauren French and Seung Min Kim

February 26, 2015