Loretta Lynch Emerges As Top Attorney General Prospect U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta Lynch arrives for a news conference to announce money laundering charges against HSBC on Dec. 11, 2012 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Ramin Talaie - Getty Images President Obama will nominate the top federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York to replace outgoing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the White House announced on Friday. "Ms. Lynch is a strong, independent prosecutor who has twice led one of the most important U.S. Attorney's Offices in the country," said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest in a statement. Loretta Lynch's name rose in the aftermath of broad Republican victories in this week's midterm elections, results that will likely complicate the confirmation process for the nation's top law enforcement position. A career prosecutor, Lynch is a less contentious pick than other rumored prospects, such as Labor Secretary Tom Perez, who was confirmed to his current post on a party-line vote last year. The Senate unanimously confirmed Lynch in 2010 for her current post. Despite her easy nomination process for the prosecutor position, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, the key Republican on the committee that will oversee the nomination process, said Lynch should expect a "fair, but thorough, vetting" and noted that "U.S. Attorneys are rarely elevated directly to this position." "I'm hopeful that her tenure, if confirmed, will restore confidence in the Attorney General as a politically independent voice for the American people," he said. New York Democrat Chuck Schumer, who recommended Lynch for her current prosecutor position, described her as "a consummate professional" with a "first-rate legal mind." "I was proud to recommend her to be the US Attorney for my home community of the Eastern District of New York, and I will be prouder still to champion what must be her swift confirmation in the Senate," he said. Obama will reportedly extend an olive branch to the incoming Republican-controlled Senate by allowing them to vote on the Attorney General choice instead of jamming the upper chamber this winter. Lynch will need 51 votes to be confirmed. The announcement came alongside news of a number of other changes to the Obama administration for its final two years. If confirmed, Lynch will be the first African-American female attorney general. Read next: Who is Loretta Lynch?