Obama picks Brooklyn prosecutor Lynch for attorney general

Reuters | By Aruna Viswanatha and Roberta Rampton

45 mins ago

President Barack Obama will nominate Brooklyn federal prosecutor Loretta Lynch to replace the retiring Eric Holder as U.S. attorney general and if confirmed, she would become the first black woman to serve in the post, the White House said on Friday.

The 55-year-old North Carolina native and Harvard-trained lawyer has deep experience in both civil rights and corporate fraud cases. Lynch is known for a low-key personality and stirred little controversy during two tenures as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

Her nomination requires Senate confirmation. The Senate twice previously has voted to confirm her to federal prosecutor jobs, the last time in 2010.

In a statement, White House spokesman Josh Earnest called Lynch "a strong, independent prosecutor" and said Obama would formally announce her nomination to be the nation's top law enforcement official at an event in the White House Roosevelt Room on Saturday.

Obama, the first black U.S. president, named Holder as the first black attorney general in 2009. Holder announced in September that he would resign. With Holder leaving after six years on the job, Obama picked Lynch, who is not a member of the president's inner circle, as the first black woman for the job.

Sources close to the Obama administration said they expect Lynch will generate little controversy, making for a smooth Senate confirmation process.

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