Obama nominates Loretta Lynch as new attorney general
Lynch: Americas new attorney general. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters
President Barack Obama on Saturday confirmed his nomination of Loretta Lynch to be the next US attorney general, succeeding Eric Holder.
The White House had signalled the nomination of the US attorney for the eastern district of New York who will, if confirmed, become the first African American woman to hold the post on Friday night.
Its pretty hard to be more qualified for this role than Loretta, Obama said at a White House press conference, before detailing and praising her achievements.
He added: I can think of no better public servant to be our attorney general.
Provoking laughter, Obama said: Loretta might be the only lawyer in America who battles mobsters and drug lords and terrorists and still has the reputation for being a people person.
He added: Thats probably because Loretta doesnt look to make headlines, she looks to make a difference.
Away from the US, the 55-year-old Harvard-educated attorney from Greensboro, North Carolina recently spent time as special counsel to the prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
In answer to the president, Lynch thanked Obama and Holder, her colleagues in the Department of Justice and the eastern district of New York, my professional home.
She said: The Department of Justice is the only department named for an ideal, and this is appropriate because our work is both ennobling and profoundly challenging.
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Obama nominates Loretta Lynch as new attorney general