Rachael Rollins' US Attorney Nomination Held Up By Republican Senator

WASHINGTON (CBS) -- One Republican senator is holding up a key vote to confirm Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins as the next U.S. attorney for Massachusetts.

The Boston Globe reports that Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton wants more time to convince colleagues to oppose Rollins over her positions on criminal justice reform. A committee vote scheduled for Thursday has been postponed for at least a week.

"Rachel Rollins measures success as a prosecutor not by the number of victims she secures justice for, but by the number of criminals she helps avoid consequences," a spokesman for Cotton told WBZ-TV. "America needs officials who will ensure the rule of law and stand up for the victims of crime—Rollins has not and will not."

Rollins was elected as district attorney in 2018 after promising to not prosecute some low-level crimes. She said she wanted to focus on serious crimes instead of ones resulting from mental health or addiction problems.

President Joe Biden nominated Rollins for U.S. attorney back in July. Cotton vowed to block her nomination at the time.

If confirmed, Rollins would be the first Black woman to hold the job.