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Loretta Lynch (Finally) Confirmed As Attorney General

By a 56-43 vote, the U.S. Senate has confirmed Loretta Lynch as the nation's first black female U.S. attorney general.

Loretta Lynch (Finally) Confirmed As Attorney General
Getty Images / Mark Wilson
By Elizabeth Hagedorn
SMS
April 23, 2015

Five months after President Obama announced Loretta Lynch was his pick for U.S. attorney general, the U.S. Senate has confirmed her. (Video via The White House) 

"On this vote, the yeas were 56 and the nays were 43. The nomination is confirmed." (Video via C-SPAN) 

Lynch's nomination has most recently been held up over an unrelated matter involving an unexpectedly controversial human trafficking bill.

"Call Loretta Lynch for a vote. Get her confirmed. Let her do her job. … This is embarrassing, a process like this," President Obama said. 

On Wednesday, the Senate managed to pass a compromise version of the bill, clearing the way for a vote on Lynch Thursday. 

Lynch makes history — not only for the longest confirmation wait of any attorney general in decades — but also for being the first black woman in the nation's history to head the Justice Department. 

This video includes images from Getty Images.