Loretta Lynch Gets Confirmation Vote for Attorney General

WASHINGTON (AP) — Five months after she was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as attorney general, Loretta Lynch will finally get a confirmation vote in the Senate.

Lynch is expected to win approval Thursday with the support of all Democrats and at least five Republicans. Now U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, she would replace Eric Holder and become the nation's first black female attorney general.

Lynch has had to wait far longer than most recent attorney general nominees to be confirmed. Republican leaders had decided to hold off on her confirmation until an unrelated bill on human trafficking was completed, but it hit unexpected gridlock over an abortion funding provision.

A deal was reached earlier this week and the trafficking bill passed unanimously on Wednesday.