Enough is enough: Confirm Loretta Lynch

Loretta Lynch is eminently qualified to be attorney general of the United States.  Most legal experts across the political spectrum agree. Law enforcement and civil rights communities agree. Many political adversaries agree.  They also agree that the Senate should confirm her. Now.   

Americans are hungry for leadership, leadership that calls us to embrace our better angels. The United States Senate could lead the way by bringing Lynch’s nomination to a vote. Americans despair of leaders who play politics with the nation’s stability, with its economic and justice systems. We are eager for our leaders to lead us continuously toward a more perfect union. Yet by the time the Senate heads back after this two-week recess, she will have been waiting longer than any other attorney general nominee ever—and more than a month since she received bipartisan support in the Judiciary Committee. 

{mosads}This display of sad politics with Lynch’s nomination does just the opposite. And it stokes the prejudices and biases of those so prone, instead of calling us to be our better angels. 

I first met Lynch in church in Brooklyn at the First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn Heights, when she was a leading attorney at a major private law firm. From there she went on to assume a role in public service as a highly accomplished U.S. Attorney.  

During her 30-year career, she has assembled a lengthy record as a proven leader and capable manager who has consistently fought for justice. She has distinguished herself as a tough, fair, and independent lawyer who has twice headed one of the most active and effective U.S. Attorney’s offices in the country.

She comes from a family of pastors, whose generations go back to helping people escape the Jim Crow South in the 1930s. Today’s pressing challenges require leaders like Lynch, who stand up for values of justice, freedom, and equality for all Americans. We need her at the helm of the Department of Justice to help and strengthen our communities.

Lynch represents just the kind of leadership that our faith communities have long called for. Faith communities have consistently sought a strong moral voice in fighting the injustices that affect our communities. From racial and ethnic inequality to police violence and voting rights, we need strong leadership at the Department of Justice to ensure we build on the progress we have achieved, address issues that still sow injustice, and enforce laws that protect the most vulnerable members of our community. Loretta Lynch is urgently needed to bring that leadership. 

The Department of Justice is the first stop when tackling the challenges we face as a nation; including the division within communities between law enforcement and those they serve, and more. The confirmation of Loretta Lynch as Attorney General should not and cannot be jeopardized by partisan politics. Her outstanding career record and character make her a champion for justice who will be a valuable partner to the faith community and the entire nation as we jointly strive to form a more perfect union and to be our better angels.

Davie is executive vice president of the Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York.