Senator Ted Cruz (R., Texas) wants Republicans to have as much power as possible when it comes time to confirm Attorney General Eric Holder’s successor.
Cruz, who has previously made the case for impeaching Holder in an attempt to have a special prosecutor investigate the IRS, doesn’t want a confirmation battle to take place during the lame-duck session.
“To ensure that justice is served and that the attorney general is not simply replaced with another extreme partisan who will likewise disregard the law, the Senate should wait until the new Congress is sworn in before confirming the next attorney general,” Cruz said in a Thursday afternoon statement. “Allowing Democratic senators, many of whom will likely have just been defeated at the polls, to confirm Holder’s successor would be an abuse of power that should not be countenanced.”
Republican senators have the ability to slow down the process.
“With Republican opposition, any nominee could take as long as three weeks before even clearing the Senate Judiciary Committee, because of rules that guarantee them, as the minority party, a chance to delay the vote,” the Los Angeles Times explains. “Following that, the Senate floor debate could take a week to clear all the procedural hurdles at the Republican minority’s disposal to stall the vote.”