U.S. Senate clears way for long-delayed justice chief nomination vote

U.S. Senate on Tuesday reached a deal to pass a stalled human trafficking bill which clears path for a long-delayed nomination vote on attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch.

"There is a bipartisan proposal that will allow us to complete action on this important legislation so we can provide help for the victims who desperately need it," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday morning.

The human trafficking bill initially gained bipartisan support. However, the Democrats later accused Republicans of slipping in the bill hostile language to block federal funding for abortion programs without consulting them. Senate Republicans dismissed the accusation, insisting that the controversial language concerning abortion funding was part of the bill from the very beginning.

As Senate Democrats repeatedly blocking a vote on the bill, McConnell announced early March that new justice chief nominee Lynch "will be put off again" till the Senate Democrats cooperated in the stalled bill.

Loretta Lynch, the current U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, was nominated by U.S. President Barack Obama in November to replace Eric Holder. She passed her confirmation vote by 12-8 in late February. Endite