The five-month battle to choose President Barack Obama’s next attorney general came to a close today when the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Loretta Lynch, CNN reports. Ten Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, joined Democrats in the 56-43 vote to make Lynch, 55, the first African-American female attorney general in U.S. history. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, was the only senator not to vote. Lynch, a two-time U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, will replace Eric Holder.

University of Tennessee law professor Dean Rivkin told a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing yesterday about an investigation into children who were shackled and jailed in Knox County after being summoned to court for truancy. His testimony came during a hearing on whether states have been allowed to take federal juvenile justice grant money while violating laws against jailing juveniles for minor infractions. Read more from Public Integrity.org.

Loretta Lynch can expect to be confirmed as the next attorney general within a day or two after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced a deal on a sex trafficking bill that had been tied up in abortion politics for weeks. “And now, I’m glad we can say there is a bipartisan proposal that will allow us to complete action on this important legislation so we can provide help to the victims who desperately need it.” McConnell said today. Roll Call has more.

President Barack Obama today called for the Senate to confirm his attorney general nominee, Loretta Lynch, 160 days after he named her to lead the Justice Department. Obama’s comments follow the Senate’s adjournment Thursday night without any action on Lynch’s nomination. Lynch has at least 51 votes for confirmation, including from five Republicans. “Nobody can describe a reason for [the delay] beyond political gamesmanship in the Senate on an issue that’s completely unrelated to her,” the president said. The National Law Journal has more (subscription required).

House leaders used Wednesday's tax filing deadline to vote on a package of bills designed to protect taxpayers from potential abuse by the IRS, the Times Free Press reports. One bill would prevent IRS employees from using personal email accounts for official business. One would enact a taxpayers' bill of rights, and another would require the tax agency to fire employees caught targeting individuals or groups based on their politics. Two other bills would require federal workers and contractors to be current in their federal taxes.

The lead GOP sponsor of a sex trafficking bill that's stalled over abortion offered a new plan Tuesday to resolve the impasse, but Democrats immediately rejected it, leaving any resolution unclear. The continued gridlock promised to prolong a months-long delay in confirming President Barack Obama's attorney general nominee, Loretta Lynch, since Senate Republican leaders have decided to hold up her vote until the trafficking bill is dealt with, TriCitiies reports from the Associated Press.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz are among 57 Republicans in Congress who are calling on the Supreme Court to uphold state bans on same-sex marriage, WATE reports from the Associated Press. The congressional Republicans said in a brief filed at the high court Friday that the justices should not impose “a federally mandated redefinition of the ancient institution of marriage” nationwide. The court will hear arguments on April 28 in cases from McConnell’s home state of Kentucky, as well as Tennessee, Michigan and Ohio.

A vote on Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch has again been delayed as U.S. senators battle over an abortion-related provision in an anti-human trafficking bill, Fox News reports. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Democrats must help pass the bill before he will schedule a vote on Lynch.

The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) has asked Congress for $486.9 million for Fiscal Year 2016, approximately the same level of funding requested for the past two years, the agency reports. In addition to $451.3 million for basic field grants that fund the delivery of civil legal assistance to low-income Americans, the request also includes $5 million for the Technology Initiative Grants program, $5 million for the Pro Bono Innovation Fund, $1 million for student loan repayment assistance to legal aid lawyers, $19.5 million for management and grants oversight and $5.1 million for the Office of the Inspector General. Congress appropriated $375 million for LSC last year. At the height of its funding, the agency received $420 million.

A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers yesterday introduced the Songwriter Equity Act. Led by U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Georgia, the legislation would allow the special royalty rate-setting board to consider the fair market value of a song when setting digital royalty rates. Music industry advocates believe this would lead to better royalty payments for songwriters and publishers. While an identical bill went nowhere last year, supporters hope it may fare better this year in the now GOP-controlled congress, the Tennessean reports.