In a move that was rumored to happen earlier in the week, Loretta Lynch was nominated by President Barack Obama to be the new United States Attorney General, according to WTVD.

Should Lynch be approved by the Senate, she would become the first black woman to hold the position.

"Thank you for your faith in me and asking me to succeed an attorney general whom I admire and to lead the department that I love," Lynch said.

The president said the following when he nominated Lynch at the White House:



"She has spent years in the trenches as a prosecutor aggressively fighting terrorism, financial fraud, cyber-crime, all while vigorously defending civil rights. In a country that is built on the rule of law, there are few offices more important than that of Attorney General."

Lynch is working in her second tour of duty as the United States Attorney General for the Eastern District of New York.

Lynch would take over for Eric Holder, who announced his resignation back in September, but he said he would remain in the position until a replacement is found and approved by the Senate.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, said that he wants the nomination to be handled in January. On the other side of the spectrum, Democrats told the White House it would be hard to win the confirmation when the lame-duck session of Congress begins in the coming week.

Chuck Grassley, a senator from Iowa who is the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, expressed "every confidence that Ms. Lynch will receive a very fair, but thorough, vetting by the Judiciary Committee."

"U.S. attorneys are rarely elevated directly to this position, so I look forward to learning more about her, how she will interact with Congress, and how she proposes to lead the department," Grassley said. "I'm hopeful that her tenure, if confirmed, will restore confidence in the attorney general as a politically independent voice for the American people."