Today in the Checks and Balances: the Senate Judiciary Committee questions Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch

Nothing in the U.S. Constitution about this part of the process, but members of this committee have special jurisdiction over the Treasury Department. If approved by the committee, the nomination goes to the floor of the Senate. This part is mandated by the Constitution. Here's the relevant part:

Article 2, Section 2, Clause 2:

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law.

- Click here for historical detail from Findlaw.

The Hill reports that the nominee will likely sail through the process. The committee may simply be exhausted from fighting with the current Attorney General for so long. A breather may be in order.

Here's some - hopefully useful - background reading. This touches on issues we will cover soon enough in class.

- US Attorney General: This was one of the first executive positions established by Congress - the AG was the chief lawyer of the U.S. government and served bit the president and Congress. The first was Edmund Randolph. He served - along with the three others as members of Washington's first cabinet. The office was established in the same bill that established the process for the writ of mandamus that would be lead to the development of the power of judicial review.

- Senate Judiciary Committee: The committee was established in 1816. Click here for a history of the committee from its webpage and here for a look at the history of the committee system in the Senate. Until 1816, committees were informal and ad-hoc and members often met at theirs desks. The growth of the nation and the increased complexity of the law making process led the Senate to establish standing committees in 1816. The judiciary committee was one of the first. Aside from having oversight authority over the Justice Department it also considers nominations to the federal judiciary.

- Department of Justice: This was established in 1870 after the House Committee on the Judiciary recommended that the office of Attorney General be made full time and that the attorneys involved in various aspects of governance be put under one roof. These attorneys represented the national government in all legal matters and oversaw the prosecution of federal crimes.