Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) threw the race card on the Senate floor.
With Minority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) sitting beside him, Durbin compared Loretta Lynch to Rosa Parks.
Democrats have grumbled about Republican motivation to keep Lynch on the sidelines as political leverage.
"Loretta Lynch, the first African-American woman nominated to be attorney general, is asked to sit in the back of the bus when it comes to the Senate calendar," Durbin said.
Durbin accused Republicans of having racist reasons for not allowing Lynch’s nomination to replace Eric Holder as Obama’s next Attorney General to receive a vote on the Senate floor.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said Lynch would only get a confirmation vote after the Senate passes an anti-human trafficking bill, which Democrats are currently holding up.
Lynch has waited longer than any other Cabinet nominee in the past three decades. Although she was nominated in December 2014, Democrats decided to defer Lynch’s confirmation to the Republican majority instead of confirming her during their lame duck session.
Some Republicans have voiced opposition to Lynch because she said she would help implement what they believe to be Obama’s unconstitutional Executive Action providing amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants within the U.S.