attorney loretta lynch confirmed today by the u.s. senate to be the next attorney general, replacing eric holder. that vote, 56-43, five months approximately after president obama nominated loretta lynch for the attorney general position. ms. lynch will become the first african-american woman to hold the post in the united states. 10 republicans joined with democrats today in voting for loretta lynch, joining with all democrats. kelly ayotte, thad cochran, susan collins, jeff flake lindsey graham. orrin hatch, ron johnson, mark kirk, mitch mcconnell and rob portman. just one senator did not vote -- ted cruz of texas. he was on the floor today in opposition to the nomination, but he did not take part in the confirmation vote. ashley parker of "the new york times" wrote "after railing against loretta lynch, ted cruz escapes confirmation vote." "where in the world was senator ted cruz? " he voted against a procedural motion to move ahead. mr. cruz missed her final vote on thursday afternoon. the reason? he had to catch a flight to texas

why have they chosen to obstruct the president's agenda, as it relates to loretta lynch, for instance but not ash carter? they claimed initially that the claim was that -- well we have a problem with lorloreta lynch's support -- and they had a problem with ash carter's support with the president's negotiations from iran to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon. >> but they confirmed him. >> they confirmed him almost immediately. and so the republicans are going to have to come up with a good reason, which they haven't produced so far, and will not be able to. why is loretta lynch being treated differently, even from other nominees of the president of the united states? >> you know frank, do you see this being resolved quickly? or do we have to keep on dealing with this? >> well it sounds like senator mcconnell alluded today, and negotiators on both sides of the aisle seem to think that the differences on the anti-trafficking bill can be resolved in the coming days. senator mcconnell said, he hoped to have this bill finished early next week. if that's the case they'll have a vote

during the confirmation hearings i very much wanted to support loretta lynch's nomination. bringing in a new attorney general should be turning a positive page in this country but unfortunately the answers that ms. lynch gave at the confirmation hearing in my opinion render her unsuitable for confirmation as attorney general of the united states. that was a shame. ms. lynch's record as the u.s. attorney for the eastern district of new york had earned her a reputation as a relatively no-nonsense prosecutor, so it was my hope we would see similar approach and similar answers from ms. lynch at the confirmation hearing. instead, she chose to embrace the lawlessness of the holder justice president. when she was asked whether she would defend president obama's illegal executive amnesty which president obama himself has acknowledged no fewer than 22 times that he had no constitutional authority to undertake, and which a federal court has now enjoined as unlawful, she responded affirmatively, saying she thought the administration's contrived legal justification was -- quote -- reaso

as long as they refuse to vote on loretta lynch. eric holder is the current ag.nd they made him wait for eight days, after his hearings for eight days on the floor of the senate. before eric holder, the attorney general was michael mukasi. before that was it was alberto gonzalez before that jan ashcroft before that jarrett reno dick thornburg.g;zx and one of the things about loretta lynch. if you take all the time the last seven attorney general nominees had to wait on the senate floor for a vote, if you take all their wait time combined, and then double it loretta lynch has waited longer than that. she has waited more than five months without getting a vote in the senate. eric holder, eight days. loretta lynch, five months and counting. senate republicans will not schedule a vote on her. and republicans are in control of the senate so what can you do? today senator harry reid told me even though republicans are in control and democrats are not and he is a democrat he told me today that he has a trick up his sleeve which he thinks will let him and the democrats f

by all accounts, loretta lynch's confirmation should have sailed through the senate. after awhile it seemed that it would. we had senators, republican senators who were saying what a wonderful woman she is. she's great. they were very vocal in their support. the senior senator from utah, the senior senator from south carolina, senior senator from arizona. but it soon became apparent the republican leader pressed these people a little bit and suddenly they weren't as interested in moving the lynch confirmation along, even though that's what they said it they should do. her nomination dragged on, has dragged on for months. in fact, i repeat, she's waited longer to be confirmed in the first 54 attorneys general combined longer than attorneys general nominated by every president from george washington to woodrow wilson and beyond. what should have been a quick confirmation will be anything but that. instead mrs. lynch became the first attorney general nominee in history to be filibustered. the editorial from the newspaper is really insulting mr. president. they said that

and one of the things about loretta lynch. if you take all the time the last nominees in to wait on the senate floor for a vote and you take the wait time con bined and double it, loretta lynch has waited longer than that. she has waited longer than five months without getting a vote in the senate. loretta lynch, five months and counting. senate republicans will not schedule a vote on her. and they are in charge of the senate. what can you do. and senator harry reid told me that republicans are in control and democrats are not, and he is a democrat, he has a trick up his sleeve, that will allow him and the democrats to force a vote on loretta lynch, really? watch. one thing that has not been done and a historic delay, the nomination of loretta lynch to be the next attorney general of the united states. what is going on there? >> the first part of may, she will have been in limbo, in purgatory six months. and we had republicans, mccain, mcconnell, saying what a good women she was. they are not allowing a vote. we are basing it

during the confirmation hearings, i very much wanted to support loretta lynch's nomination. bringing in a new attorney general should be turning a positive page in this country. but unfortunately the answers that ms. lynch gave at the confirmation hearing, in my opinion, render her unsuitable for confirmation as attorney general of the united states. that was a shame. ms. lynch's record as the u.s. attorney for the eastern district of new york had earned her a reputation as a relatively no-nonsense prosecutor, so it was my hope we would see similar approach and similar answers from ms. lynch at the confirmation hearing. instead, she chose to embrace the lawlessness of the holder justice department. when she was asked whether she would defend president obama's illegal executive amnesty, which president obama himself has acknowledged no fewer than 22 times that he had no constitutional authority to undertake, and which a federal court has now enjoined as unlawful, she responded affirmatively, saying she thought the administration's contrived legal justification was -- quote --

this vote on loretta lynch was never about loretta lynch. it was about the democrats trying to push their agenda in the senate and the republicans trying to fight them on it. if you look at it one of the reasons this vote is coming up is because the democrats finally caved on trying to push government-funded abortions and human trafficking bill. now that the democrats have given up on that, the senate republicans are giving a vote on loretta lynch. she is the best we can expect out of president obama for an attorney general. he will never have an objective constitutionalist in that position. it will be another liberal pushing obama's agenda and covering for president obama covering his rear end. host: check from michigan on the line for independents. good morning. caller: good morning. i am calling and i don't have my tv on so i cannot hear you. i am calling about you and the girl yesterday. i sit and watch them every time. somebody has something to say but if they are not bashing obama, you cut them off short. i watch this everyday. host: w

loretta lynch when he wrote to express his organization's strong support. i quote "as prosecutors facing challenges in the field from human trafficking to gangs and drug traffickers our membership feels that ms. lynch understands the operational nature of these challenges and will be a strong, independent voice at the helm of the department." calling a vote on ms. lynch and confirming her would be a big step forward in the fight against trafficking. it's time to end this delay and obstruction. this extraordinary woman nominated by the president of the united states to be the first african-american wellcome to serve as attorney general should have been approved by the senate long ago. while she has been waiting patiently for a long, long time, we have interrupted the business of the senate to approve the president's appointments as assistant secretary of transportation assistant secretary of commerce, federal mine safety and health review commissioners, the federal retirement threft investment board members the under secretary for management at the department

you heard jeb bush say this week they should confirm loretta lynch. gloria: because they should vote on her. manu: vote on her exactly. >> he's got the executive point of view, though. manu: he does have the executive point of view. you talk to some republicans i talked to john corrine and i asked him specifically are you feeling pressure to confirm loretta lynch, his answer, no. gloria: but harry reid says, i'm going to bring it up no matter what. i can get 51 votes to bring it up and that is abandoning and attacking senate protocol, which, you know, is kind of unheard of. will he have to do that? manu: it sounds like they may be able to avoid that because as peter mentioned, it's all wrapped up in this fight over this trafficking bill and it sounds like they're close to getting a deal on that and they could lead to the confirmation of loretta lynch but certainly if harry reid goes this route and forces a vote and tries to really undermine mitch mcconnell's prerogative in setting the schedule, which is huge in the senate. everything is about allowing

i will be loretta lynch. i would refer you to my record as united states attorney on two occasions as well as a practicing lawyer to see the independence and that i have always brought to every particular matter. i certainly think that going forward, while i'm not familiar with the particulars of the issues that you raise they clearly are of concern to you and perhaps to this committee. and i do pledge to this committee that i want to hear your concerns. i want to listen to your concerns and i will always be open to discussing those issues with you. senator i'm sure that as we go forward, should i be confirmed while there it would be wonderful to think that you agree with everything that i do, that may not be the case. >> you may not agree with everything we do. >> that is perfectly appropriate. senator i will always be open to discussing with you why i have done something and basis for which i have made an action to the extent i'm able to do so. i found to be the most effective way of not just for me in term

president loretta lynch is an historic nominee. what i worry about is this body is making history for the wrong reasons. the senate republicans who filibustered her, she becomes the first out of 82 attorneys general in our nation's history to face a filibuster, has had to wait longer than any other. she is an historic nominee. on one hand she's an historic nominee for the right reasons, the first african-american woman, highly, highly qualified, everybody agrees with that. but what a shame that we had the second part of history to have her be the first out of 82 filibustered to be held to this very disturbing double standard. this woman has had to face double standards all her life, why one more? i will parlay vote for her. as to present, i yield back my time. >> today, this and it picks up the nomination of the 83rd attorney general. we all know that the former democrat leadership could have processed this nomination during last year's lame duck, but in the limited time that we had they chose to concentrate on confirming a number

today's vote on loretta lynch the seventh closure vote is republicans have forced. forcing closure. that is terminating filibuster. something was rare in the entire history of this country. it was used only in most extreme circumstances. once miss lynch is confirmed five sitting members of the , president's cabinet will have been filibustered by senate republicans. put that in contrast, it rarely happened before. rarely. unlike today's senate republicans, democrats showed restraint in our disagreements with the president over appointments. we showed great deference to his choice for president. by that, i am talking about george w. bush the latest bush , who was president. some say that's water under the bridge. there will be those republicans who after confirming lynch today will say all's well that ends well. they're wrong. i'm pleased that she will be confirmed as attorney general. her nomination process is proof of all that is wrong with the republican leadership. senate republicans made loretta lynch's nomination linger more than ten times longer than the average attorney general

this was never really entirely about loretta lynch. what this long, protracted nomination battle that we had not seen before was about was the fact republicans did not like eric holder and yet when they were presented with a replacement in loretta lynch who many concede she's very well qualified and ready for the job she got someone who spoke up and said she supported the president's action on immigration, which may be some of the things republicans dislike more than eric holderp himself. so we saw it dug up improbation and unrelated human tracking bill which you discussed on the program before get drawn into this. that was rehe resolved earlier this week and in the end she won the support of 10 republicans. most interesting senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. gwen: of the things i found interesting about all of these confirmation hearings but this one in particular she was being peoplized for agreeing with the president who nominated her. what was expected? juana: if you listened to what republicans said, what they wanted in a new

it really does look like loretta lynch has the votes the confirm her.five republican supporters. the question is will mitch mcconnell bring it to a vote. >> i'm glad you brought that up. when mitch mcconnell became majority leader he made a huge big deal. a huge deal about how well the senate would function. listen to this. >> i heard a lot of discussion about dysfunction in washington. i think there are a lot of people who believe that just because you have divided government that doesn't mean you don't accomplish anything. the senate in the last few years doesn't do anything. we don't even vote. we're going back to work and actually pass legislation. >> he made this big deal about progress and votes and passing legislation. if he can't hold a vote on the attorney general, i mean, what does he do? >> and he can hold a vote. he just won't hold the vote. that is incredibly disingenuous. the prize goes to senator chuck grassley. he is now blaming harry reid for not bringing this up when the democrats had the majority in december. you and i talked about th

go ahead and confirm loretta lynch.i think they're kind of caught between a rock and a hard place. they want him to go but yet they won't move the confirmation forward. there's absolutely no reason in the world they can't just do a clean confirmation vote. >> melanie campbell we saw them come back in from recess. they did not schedule a vote. many people all over the country have been calling for this vote. we see them go as i said in the intro, and confirm a federal judge just like they could have voted for loretta lynch that simple is how they did the federal judge. is this like sticking their finger in the eye of the american people? >> well we're going back on capitol hill tomorrow to continue to urge senator mcconnell to leave. we're going back with the women of faith and women of good conscience to really urge senator mcconnell to do the right thing and call for that vote. he has the power as the congress woman has stated. he can do this vote at any moment. we are concerned that she has waited another two weeks si

if they hadn't, loretta lynch would not be at that swearing in hearing. >> what does attorney general lynch have to look forward to as far as priorities and issues she has to grapple with. >> we see the continued around largely peaceful protest in baltimore the killing of fedy gray. and eric holder talked about how he wants to lower the legal standard of policemen violating someone's civil rights. the bar is very high in proving that and they stride to do that in the ferguson case. now loretta lynch is stepping in this tumultuous era of law enforcement of which she's in charge. >> in new york she was a prosecutor in the abner molina case. >> absolutely. >> i with what happened in ferguson and what is happening in baltimore she's in a special position to understand both sides. >> she certainly slick and of course there are on going civil rights investigations of several police departments around the country to establish whether there is a pattern and practice of several rights violations. we've seen a number of decisions in the holder justice department to that end where these local po

call loretta lynch for a vote. get her confirmed. put her in place. let her do her job. this is embarrassing. >> ifill: the president nominated lynch last november to replace eric holder. if confirmed, the career prosecutor from new york would become the first black woman to hold the office. the white house today called news of the senate deal "an encouraging sign." >> ifill: so what broke the logjam? for that, i spoke a short time ago to two members of the senate. we start with mississippi republican roger wicker. senator wicker, welcome. there seem to be two arguments going on here in the senate recently that you reached an agreement about today, but one was about a human trafficking bill, one was about loretta lynch. what was the connection? >> well, the connection is actually we needed to break the logjam on the trafficking bill, a very important piece of legislation to protect vulnerable young americans and also people who will be trafficked into the united states. senator mcconnell had made it clear that the schedule would be the trafficking bill then the lynch nomi

loretta lynch, you know the name.ake history as the first african-american to serve as attorney general. she's already made history in the wrong way for how long she's had to wait for a vote, 160 days and counting. that is longer than the last seven nominees combined. >> the fight over lynch's stalled nomination is heating up. it may come to a head next week in the senate. the democratic leader of that chamber threatening to force a vote to force washington's hand. we're joined from the white house this morning. i guess if you look technically at the rules, he can do that. >> reporter: that's right. and, you know he's one of the people on capitol hill harry reid saying that loretta lynch is in purgatory over this hold up. now, poppy, we know this hold up will at least continue into next week. but there are some small signs of progress. democratic and republican sources telling us that they are close to reaching a compromise on this other unrelated issue, the human trafficking bill that's standing in loretta lynch's wa

so let's have a robust debate on loretta lynch.n up or down vote just as soon as the senate moves forward and helps victims of sex trafficking which i think is a reasonable tradeoff. >> okay. but penny, when she finally is nominated, and this is not to discredit loretta lynch because there are several gop members that believe that she is extremely qualified for the job and they don't question her ability whatsoever. she is extremely qualified. she is a smart woman. when she steps in when it comes to sex trafficking, for example are president obama's liberal stances on immigration going to get in the way of sex trafficking? i would hope not. >> i hope not either. she said look, she has been nominated by someone and you would expect, and i'm not sure whether republicans were expecting her answers to be otherwise, but she is as you said and as guy has said, she deserves an up and down vote because she is competent because she is capable, and because the justice department needs a leader at this point. right now you have somebody with

[applause] loretta lynch: here we are. i have to say as i looked out on all of you gathered today, it seems like such an understatement to say my heart is full. it is full of the most deep and profound gratitude. i must thank so many people who made it possible for me to stand here. i have to thank the president for his faith in me and asking me to lead the department love. mr. vice president, thank you for your comments today. thank you for your support and your wise counsel through this process. i have to thank senator schumer and senator leahy. thank you so much for being here. thank you for your support not just today but over the years and doing what i thought was impossible, making the senate a welcoming place for me and my family. thank you so much. thanks to my wonderful family. we are quite the force multiplier. many of you have come to know my father to this process. he has been in every hearing and every vote. it did not just start now. i remember looking up and seeing him in the gallery at my first trial. he wa

loretta lynch appears poised for confirmation.ing the senate floor. >>> and former general david petraeus in court for sentencing on leaking secrets to his mistress. >>> we begin with breaking news from the white house. u.s. officials confirming two hostages were mistakenly killed in a drone strike. the hostages an american doctor, warrenbine stein, and -- warren weinstein, and italian giovanni lo porto. president obama addressed reporters late this morning saying he ordered the incident declassified because the families deserve the truth. >> as a husband and as a father i cannot begin to imagine the anguish that the weinstein and lo porto families are enduring today. i realize that there are no words that can ever equal their loss. i profoundly regret what happened. on behalf of the united states government, i offer our deepest apologies to the families. >> weinstein had been held hostage since 2011. his wife released a statement say, "we are devastated by this news and the the gentleman my husband will never safely return home."

applause ] >> gracious and powerful speech from the new attorney general for the united states, loretta lynche 83rd attorney general, the first african-american woman. ms. lynch noting that her father's 83rd birthday was just last week. also expressing her excitement to begin her new job after five months of waiting to be confirmed as our nation's attorney general. so we'll continue to follow the reaction to this historic moment after she was approved by a 56-43 vote and the confirmation delayed, as mentioned, some five months. we'll keep an eye on all the developments there, but quite a speech from our new attorney general loretta lynch. we'll be right back. but now you can give them even more when you save with sentry® fiproguard® plus. with sentry® fiproguard® plus, your pet is just as protected against fleas and ticks as with frontline® plus. because sentry® fiproguard® plus has the same active ingredients but costs less than vet prices. and saving money helps you buy... (laughs happily) more tennis balls. sentry® fiproguard® plus - available at these retailers. we were below the 88th sou

call loretta lynch for a vote. these embarrassing. a process like this. >> we'll have that full statement and what it means for the confirmation fight later in the show. but we start with developing news about that oklahoma reserve deputy who says he mistook his gun for his taser during a deadly shooting. in his first public comments since the death of eric harris robert bates spoke to nbc news' matt lauer and addressed the central questions about how this happened. >> would you stand up for me for one second and show me where on your body when you are in your uniform you keep your taser and where you keep your weapon your revolver. can you stand up and show me. >> sure you bet. my tieser is right here on the front tucked in a protective vest. my gun itself is on my side, normally to the rear. >> and body camera video fromled incident appeared to capture the taser on his vest across from where he says he kept the gun. today matt lauer asked how he could have mixed up these two very different devices. >> people are going to look at tha

but even now this morning, we're not voting to confirm loretta lynch to be the next attorney general of the united states we're going to vote on whether to invoke cloture in regard to the top law enforcement position. for those not familiar with the rules of the senate, cloture is a rule that allows the senate to end a filibuster. the fact that senate republicans are requiring a cloture vote on her nomination acknowledges what we've known all along. republicans have been engaged in an unprecedented filibuster of this nomination. when we do vote to confirm loretta lynch this afternoon she will be the first african-american woman to serve as attorney general. she is an historic nominee. but also, senate republicans are making history, and i would say for the wrong reasons. we've had 82 attorneys general in our nation's history. until now, not a one of those 82 have had to overcome a cloture vote. not a one has had to overcome a cloture vote out of 82. but this one, loretta lynch, i said the first african american woman to serve as attorney general, became the first and only to have to

visit angieslist.com today. >>> the fight over loretta lynch. facing a delay and the house gop urging the senate to block her confirmation entirely. eight republicans writing "we believe loretta lynch falls in the unfit category and we cannot be certain that miss lynch has such a commitment." unfit? and possibly not committed to the rule of law? these are audacious claims. ignoring a long career that began with a degree from harvard law and she was confirmed twice as a u.s. attorney. and even republicans were aware of her legal representation. just listen to ted cruz. >> i'll note a number of my friends and colleagues who practice law in new york have reached out to me with words of praise for you describing your tenure as a u.s. attorney as a no nonsense prosecutor and as a u.s. attorney who honored and represented the law. >> but ted cruz still decided to oppose lynch and now eight house republicans are trying to attack her integrity and stop the senate from confirming her as the head of the justice department. joining me now is pamela preside

i went to loretta lynch's hometown of durham, north. to talk with her, including people who know her, her father. >> she's going somewhere. >> reporter: retired baptist preacher lorenzo lynch remembers a september afternoon when an old friend called shouting through phone. >> calm down. slow down a little bit. she shouted that eric holder is quitting. >> loretta lynch is an attorney in brooklyn. >> and your daughter is one of the persons in line for his job. i said, well, let me sit down. so i sat down. >> reporter: several weeks later, reverend lynch watched from his small home in durham, north carolina, the president nominate his only daughter, u.s. attorney loretta lynch to become the country's next attorney general. what does that feel like? >> that was encouraging but i knew then we had a fight on her hands. >> reporter: as a young man in the south, fighting is something reverend lynch did often during the civil rights movement and in local politics. >> she said i take her on my shoulders to attend some of these rallies and some of

on loretta lynch. we had the filibuster on the nomination of her to be attorney general of the united states. the good news is we ended the filibuster. the bad news is the first time in our nation's history that we had to overcome a filibuster for an attorney general nominee. of either party. 82 prior attorneys general going back to george washington straight through. not one of them has been treated the way loretta lynch has been treated. but those who know her strengths -- and i've gotten to know what a strong and good woman this is from her time as u.s. attorneys straight through her confirmation hearing. a confirmation hearing incidentally for those supposed to have brought witnesses and when i asked them are there any of you who were vote against her, not a single hand went up. see, i know her strength. i know she has persevered through much more difficult circumstances in her life. i believe this would make her even stronger. but i do hope after this extended delay -- and i'll leave with this --

one of loretta lynch's advocates is giuliani. he will lobby saying i worked with this woman, she's qualified. let's get it done. >> harry reid's move to force a vote. could it be counterproductive. >> i don't think it will work. he has to get five republicans to buck the leadership. >> how about the group that was founded by al sharpton threatening hunger strike could that be counterproductive? >> the fact of the matter is mitch mcconnell nose he's safe. -- knows he's safe. republicans will ride this out. i don't think outside pressure - if giuliani can't get them to move i don't think a burn of protesters will. >> now there's the iran bill. they could push off the human trafficking bill. it could go on much. >> i thought this was problem attic. we don't have a new or functional attorney. -- attorney-general. we had a foreign leader. it doesn't make sense. >> what do you think will happen. >> i think shell get confirmed. it won't happen until some time over the summer. the white house has capitulated. i don't think it will be hel

tony. >> so senator grass' vote no with standing are the votes there to confirm loretta lynch? >> it does look likely because it takes five domes to push her over the threshold needed and we have seen five republicans say they plan to support her so it is a likely confirmation. sickty sick senators voted to move forward on her nomination not that many senators will likely vote for her as a final candidate but that was a bit of a bipartisan push to at least bring her name to the floor for this final official vote and a lot of the delay hasn't been about limp herself, controversial though it is with republicans it's been about unrelated issues like a human trafficking bill, and republicans say we are not going to bring her name forward until we get other business done. >> libby casey for ugh, thank you. president obama is apologizing to the american and italian families of two hostages accidentally killed in a counter terrorism operation in january. the if the says he decided to declassify the operation because the families in his words deserve to know the truth. al jazeera senio

. >>> and today the united states senate votes on whether loretta lynch should be in charge of the department of justice. ♪ >>> welcome to al jazeera america live from new york. i'm randall pinkston. in an emotional statement at the chooits this morning, president obama offered his deepest apologies to the families of who hostages accidentally killed in a u.s. drone strike. they died in january at a suspected al-qaeda camp. the u.s. citizen, warren weinstein was held since 2011. the italian was abducted in 2012. mike viqueira is live in washington. mike this incident took place nearly four months ago. why do you this there was a delay in acknowledgment by the obama administration? >> reporter: it's a great question randall, and one of the outstanding ones we expect to here from the white house in a daley briefing. but we know about the situation on the border there between pakistan and afghanistan, and it is ruled by outlaws, literally. the tribal areas now subject to a pakistani army push an offensive against many of the groups that make their home there, driving many of the fighters into af

call loretta lynch for a vote. get her confirmed. put her in place. let her do her job.is is embarrassing a process like this. >> david dresser is with me. he's a senior correspondent for the washington examiner. good to see you. >> good to see you, arthel. >> who's pulling the strings and what are they trying to prove? >> depending on the side you're on that's your opinion. i think republicans would be happy to be rid of erik holder and confirming loretta lynch would be the perfect way to do that. i don't think anybody has that big of a problem with her despite what you've heard about her supporting the president with illegal immigrants. republicans don't like that but that's the way it is for any nominee. this is happening because democrats are holding up a human trafficking bill over abortion lang language that agreed to in a committee meeting and then later said it changed. i think mitch mcconnell had enough because this came on the heels of the democrats using the threshold to put a stop to the department of security funding bill that they wanted a vote onto stop th

the only thing held up is loretta lynch.that the final excuse will go away and that mitch mcconnel will bring her nomination to the floor as quickly as possible. >> reporter: you just had an agriculture hearing on exports to cuba. there's been a waiver as you know. new york's governor andrew cuomo is there this week trying to drum up business. do you think this is going to be a bonus for american goods and american farmers? >> as you moe eknow, this is a huge opportunity for us. we had a hearing. everyone on both panels was supportive of opening things up more. there are some significant barriers. i heard the last time i was many cuba from the cuban officials act about the lack of ability to finance. we heard that today. you have to pay in cash to purchase. the president changed things so that you don't have to pay in advance before commodities are shipped. you can wait until you receive them. you still can't use financing mechanisms and so on that cuba allows to use with other countries. we need to lift the embargo complete

senator ted cruz missed the confirmation vote for loretta lynch as attorney general today because he had a fund-raiser to get to. >> in my view, the obligation of every senator to defend the constitution is front and center why we are here. you know, in any job any profession image matters. i want some gray...but not too much. only touch of gray uses oxygen to gently blend away some gray but not all for that perfect salt and pepper look. satisfaction guaranteed. just you and the look you want. just for men touch of gray [bulldog yawns] it's finally morning! i can't wait to get to mattress discounters because the tempur-pedic bonus event ends sunday. i'll have first pick from the huge selection of tempur-pedic mattresses. then i'll get to choose $300 in pillows, sheets and other free gifts. on top of that, up to 48 months interest-free financing! hurry! mattress discounters' tempur-pedic bonus event ends sunday. mmm... some alarm clock you turned out to be. ♪ mattress discounters ♪ >>> i want to say publicly for the first time. i've been looking forward to saying this, that i am very

loretta lynch faced a crisis. after the evening with president obama, she said i condemn the senseless acts by those in baltimore that resulted in harm to law enforcement officers and a shattering of peace in the city of baltimore. i will bring the full resources of the department of justice to bear and protecting those under threat and investigating wrongdoing. white house correspondent michelle kosinski has more. >> reporter: christine, so far, we have seen a restrained and low key response from the white house on this. that is similar to what we have seen in priordemonstrations. what we heard at the white house were things like if the president, the questions if he will go there or if he will deliver a specific statement. what good would that do at this point. might it even inflate the situation or escalate it in some way. right now, the white house is putting this firmly in the hands of the department of justice. the brand new hours into her swearing in attorney general loretta lynch. the president met with he

has now been confirmed -- [ applause ] >> finally today the senate voted to confirm loretta lynchal, making her the very first african-american woman attorney general. we got late news tonight that senator mcconnell did the exact opposite according to the hill he worked quietly to round up more than 60 votes to end the filibuster. he told voters in new hampshire this saturday he would definitely be voting against her, too. >> my vote on loretta lynch is going to be unambiguously no. >> ted cruz even left the campaign trail specifically to oppose her nomination today and to once again urge his fellow senators to join him. >> the republican majority if it so chose, could defeat this nomination but the republican majority has chosen to go forward and allow loretta lynch to be confirmed. i would note there are more than a few voters back home that are asking what exactly is the difference between a democratic and republican majority when the exact same individual gets confirmed as attorney promising the exact same lawlessness. what's the difference? in my view the obligation of every

stacks up over time. >> it's a delay we've seen not only in the nomination process for loretta lynch number s here and how we got to lynch in limbo. let's start with in number first, 164 days here. president obama nominated loretta lynch as attorney general and our friends at vok tif know he's also a statistical anomaly. let's look at this number here. 21.3, that's the average amount of days since 1981 it has taken to confirm a cabinet secretary. and let's take a look at how the past four presidents stacked up. each clock represents one week here. the average confirmation wait time for president obama as you can see, five weeks for george w. bush and for bill clinton, two weeks and three days. george h.w. bush around that same time two weeks and five days. president ronald reagan just under two weeks. interesting when you put it in that perspective but lynch isn't the nominee with the longest wait time. edwin mees was confirmed in 19 1985 why are confirmations getting long there are a couple of things behind it. you have to consider gridlock in washington. check that one as a reason

senator ted cruz missed the confirmation vote for loretta lynch as attorney general today because he had a fund-raiser to get to. >> in my view, the obligation of every senator to defend the constitution is front and center why we are here. bring us your aching... and sleep deprived. bring us those who want to feel well rested and ready to enjoy the morning ahead. aleve pm. the first to combine a sleep aid... plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. for pain relief that can last until the am. so you... you... and you, can be a morning person again. aleve pm, for a better am. female announcer: get three years interest-free financing on brand name mattress sets. plus, get free delivery, and sleep train's 100-day low price guarantee. sleep train's interest free for 3 event is ending soon. ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ >>> i want to say publicly for the first time. i've been looking forward to saying this, that i am very pleased that loretta lynch has now been confirmed. [ cheers and applause ] >> finally today the senate voted to confirm loretta lynch as attorney g

a tweet about loretta lynch.it is about time that harry reid is showing some aggression in dealing with these republican obstructions over the last six years. go harry go." doug is calling from staten island. what is on your mind? caller: hello? host: you are on the air. caller: the biggest story, you would not know it if you listened to the main networks, cbs, abc, nbc, fox, is the tpp -- the trade agreement in the works right now. it should be called the southern hemisphere-agent free-trade agreement. southern hemisphere asian free trade agreement. it involves mostly asian countries. if you look at those initials, instead of tpp it should be called the shafta after cafta and fnafta. it has 24 sections and it. only 5 are related to trade. 19 are we do not know what intellectual property, the pharmaceuticals being able to charge what they want. none of the networks are talking about it because it is suicide for the anchors. they are owned by major conglomerates that have other business that are going to the affec

[applause] >> loretta lynch is the new attorney general. tomorrow, the supreme court takes up same-sex marriage cases. you can hear the recorded oral arguments. we will have it at 4:00 on c-span3. >> c-span is leased to present the winning entries in the student cam documentary competition. it is the annual cap that encourages middle and high school students to think critically about issues that affect the nation. students were asked to create a documentary based on the theme the three branches and you. mckinley layer is what our first prizewinners. her entry focused on federal funding for natural resource management. >> if you live in tulsa, you are going to drive along riverside drive grade you are going to see this river. the majority of the time, it's empty. this little stretch is where we paddle for 100 feet each direction. we need 18 minutes of depth to paddle safely. today, there is half a foot, which means most of the riverbed is dry. there is no water. >> and also impacts the community asked that he, recreationally, and economicall

you're talking about loretta lynch? >> talking about loretta lynch. we were quoting the president, who called tem barrosing. he demanded congress put her to a vote. what i was going to say is we've seen the senate at its most bipartisan on the iran bill. this is arguably the worst of washington partisanship. do you agree with the president that this is embarrassing it's taken taken so long to get this vote? >> well we have a couple things that are happening on the floor, and i think this is going to be resolved in the early part of this week. there's a human trafficking bill that passed almost unanimously out of committee. i would think every american would want to make sure we're doing everything we can domestically to deal with human trafficking. it's a huge issue here in tennessee and i know it is in every other state across the country. so over a detail, a detail that was found after it passed out of committee, it has been held up. and so what's happened is that and loretta lynch are being held together. my sense is over the next 48 to 72 hours th

loretta lynch making history to become our next attorney general. president obama talked about it just moments ago. >> i've been looking forward to saying this. that i am very pleased that loretta lynch has now been confirmed as our next attorney general. [ cheers and applause ] and, you know, america will be better off for it. she's spent her life fighting for the fair and equal justice. that's the foundation of our democracy. she's going to do a great job helping our communities, keeping them safe but also making sure our citizens are protected by equal justice under the law. >> it took 166 days for the senate to confirm president obama's nominee. >> on this vote the yeas are 56, and the nays are 43. the nomination is confirmed. >> the main holdup senate majority leader mitch mcconnell refused to schedule a vote. but after dragging his feet for months mcconnell voted yet. he and nine other republicans backed her confirmation including many up for re-election next year. was this was never about miss lynch. this was about far-right republicans, hija