Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said a new Congress should be sworn in before a replacement for Attorney General Eric Holder is confirmed.
“To ensure that justice is served and that the Attorney General is not simply replaced with another extreme partisan who will likewise disregard the law, the Senate should wait until the new Congress is sworn in before confirming the next Attorney General,” Cruz said in a statement on Thursday in response to news that Holder had decided to resign his post.
Cruz wants the Senate to wait on the chance that control of the chamber will switch from Democratic to Republican. Forecasters have said Republicans have a slightly better chance of taking control of the Senate but most of the deciding races are very close.
“Allowing Democratic senators, many of whom will likely have just been defeated at the polls, to confirm Holder’s successor would be an abuse of power that should not be countenanced,” Cruz added.
As other Republican lawmakers did, Cruz also criticized Holder’s time in office, saying he had “proven to be the most partisan attorney general in our history.”
