Loretta Lynch, President Barack Obama's pick to succeed Attorney General Eric Holder, will get a confirmation vote in the coming days. The Senate announced a deal Tuesday on the anti-human-trafficking bill that sparked the stalemate, the Washington Post reports.
"I'm glad we can now say there is a bipartisan proposal that will allow us to complete action on this important legislation," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Tuesday, according to the news site. "As soon as we finish the trafficking bill … we'll move to the president's nominee for attorney general, hopefully in the next day or so."
Senate Democrats opposed the bill when it came to the floor in February because of the restrictive abortion measures that it contained. In retaliation, Republicans stood fast, refusing to move forward with Lynch's confirmation vote until there was a deal in place for the anti-trafficking bill.
Democrats and Republicans have finally agreed on language that doesn't allow for the victims' fund to be used for health care or medical services, including abortion. The victims would instead be entitled to health care under another program that's subject to the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of some federal funds for abortion but makes exceptions for rape and incest, the Washington Post reports.
"This is really good news," Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada said. "This compromise is evidence that when Republicans and Democrats sit down together and work toward a solution, great things can happen. The Senate needs more of this."
Read more at the Washington Post.