Obama to nominate Loretta Lynch as new Attorney General

, Nov 8: US President

has decided to nominate Loretta Lynch as his new Attorney General, White House press secretary has said adding that a formal announcement would be made today. If confirmed by the Senate, Lynch would succeed Eric Holder, whose tenure has been marked by historic gains in the areas of criminal justice reform and civil rights enforcement, Josh Earnest said on Friday.

"Ms Lynch is a strong, independent prosecutor who has twice led one of the most important US Attorney's Offices in the country," Earnest said. She is the current United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Her name was considered among several top contenders including, Indian-American Preet Bharara, the high profile US Attorney in New York.

Obama has also nminated one of his deputy national security adviser Antony Blinken to become the number two to top diplomat John Kerry.

"I've known and worked closely with Tony for the past decade, starting when I joined the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and he was its Staff Director. For the past six years, I've relied on Tony in the White House, where I've come to have extraordinary respect for his knowledge, judgment, and inclusive approach to developing and implementing our foreign policy," Obama said.

PTI