One hundred thirty six days. It has been almost 5 months since Attorney General Eric Holder announced his resignation and — in the following weeks — President Barack Obama nominated Loretta Lynch, the U.S. Attorney for Eastern New York City, to fill the spot.

In those 136 days, Lynch has been stuck in a Congressional limbo lasting longer than the confirmation process for the past seven attorney generals combined.

And frankly, it’s embarrassing. After their midterm victories, Republicans were given an opportunity to show they can run Congress smoothly and with ease. And yet here they are, failing at a simple task.

Many strong liberals have sat around complaining that the confirmation process has taken on a racist and sexist taint and that those are the only obstacles. Those problems are certainly at play here — but only to a certain extent. The main problem is political gridlock.

“… This is really just DC politics, Washington at its worst,” said lame-duck Attorney General Eric Holder. In recent weeks, the main reason for the delay has come to light —the Justice for Victims of Sexual Assault Act.

Mitch McConnell and his fellow Senate Republicans have staunchly refused to even bring Lynch’s confirmation to the floor. “If they want to have time to turn to the attorney general… we have to finish the human trafficking bill,” said McConnell. Although I recognize that the Senate has a prioritized docket, this has become absolutely atrocious.

About two years ago, members of the House put aside their partisan differences and created a bill, the Justice for Victims of Sexual Assault Act, that would allocate $25 million a year to the Department of Justice which would give police forces across the country better resources to fight sex trafficking.

We can all agree this seems like a sensible bill. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved and passed the bill with no opposition. However the bill has since languished in the Senate because one of the provisions prevents money in the victims’ fund created by the bill from being used for abortions, except under extreme circumstances.

And Democrats in the Senate feel as if the Republicans snuck the provision into the bill, and as such are holding up its approval.

But Lynch’s confirmation should not be tied up in the Justice for Victims of Sexual Assault Act. And not only is this gridlock disrespectful to Eric Holder, it has almost become a personal manhunt against Lynch.

Keep in mind, Lynch, if/when she is confirmed, would be the first African-American woman to act as the United States Attorney General.

Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin recently went on air saying Republicans have “… put Lynch at the back of the bus,” with their actions — obviously referencing civil rights hero Rosa Parks. Although I hesitate to fully blame the situation on race and sex, it is subtly present. It’s one thing to question her integrity as an attorney, but no one here is doing that. Lynch is famous for jailing some of the most ruthless gang members in Brooklyn and blocking massive drug trafficking in Staten Island.

However, those responsible for Lynch’s confirmation have seemingly tossed her resume out the window. It’s a shame that such a marvelous woman has to wait so long for a well-deserved position.

More importantly, it’s a shame that the Senate seems un-phased. This is remarkably below their expected level of respect and decorum, and it shows nothing but a severe lack of leadership.

Eric Dunay is a freshman in the School of Architecture. His column appears weekly. He can be contacted at [email protected] or on Twitter @ERock_28.

Published on March 24, 2015 at 12:06 am