(Reuters) President Barack Obama's choice of Loretta Lynch to be the next U.S. attorney general got a boost on Thursday when Republican Senator Mark Kirk announced his support, possibly providing a crucial 51st vote for the embattled nominee.
"I am confident from my conversation with Loretta Lynch that she will be a valuable partner in confronting the gang violence that is robbing families of their children every day in Chicago," Kirk, a senator from Illinois, said in a statement.
