text: On the Senate floor Thursday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) slammed President Obama's nominee for attorney general Loretta Lynch for her responses at her confirmation hearing to questions on issues like immigration and executive overreach. (AP) 
   
   Thursday, Sen. Ted Cruz argued against nominating Loretta Lynch as Attorney General, calling her unsuitable for the job. 
   
   "I wanted to see a new Attorney General who would be faithful to law, but her answers made that impossible," Cruz said of Lynch's confirmation hearing, saying in a 10-minute speech on the Senate floor that she had "embraced the lawlessness" of Eric Holder's tenure. 
   
   Then he missed the final vote on her nomination -- the only senator to do so. 
   
   "He voted for cloture, that was the vote that mattered," said Cruz spokesman Rick Tyler. "He made the case against her, he voted against her in cloture and he didn’t prevail." 
   
   Why exactly did Cruz miss the final vote? Tyler wouldn't say. Cruz attended a Dallas fundraiser Thursday night before traveling to Las Vegas, where he will attend a meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition meeting. ||||| WASHINGTON — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz took to the Senate floor on Thursday to urge his Republican colleagues to vote against attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch. 
   
   When the final confirmation vote came a few hours later, Cruz — a candidate for the 2016 presidential nomination— skipped the vote. 
   
   Cruz's communications direction Amanda Carpenter did not provide a reason for the senator's absence but said in an emailed statement that his "opposition to the nomination has been clear," noting that earlier in the day he had voted to filibuster her nomination. That key procedural vote ended up passing, clearing the way to her eventual confirmation. 
   
   "He voted against her in committee and opposed cloture. That is why he spoke on the floor about it, has given numerous interviews, and written an op-ed the topic. 
   
   Once cloture was invoked it was clear she would be confirmed and Cruz strongly chastised his Republican colleagues who supported her." 
   
   Carpenter added that his vote against cloture was "the only vote that mattered." 
   
   "After that it was done deal," she said. 
   
   Cruz had opposed Lynch's confirmation on the grounds that she, like outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder, would continue to support President Obama's executive action on immigration. 
   
   "The Republican majority, if it so chose, could defeat this nomination, but the Republican majority has chosen to go forward and allow Loretta Lynch to be confirmed," Cruz said on the Senate floor. "I would note there are more than a few voters back home that are asking what exactly is the difference between a Democratic and Republican majority when the exact same individual gets confirmed as Attorney General, promising the exact same lawlessness, what's the difference?" 
   
   Lynch was confirmed 56-43, five months after Obama nominated her. ||||| John Shinkle/POLITICO Cruz, vocal Lynch critic, skips confirmation vote 
   
   Sen. Ted Cruz skipped the vote to confirm Loretta Lynch as attorney general on Thursday — just three hours after he took to the Senate floor to rail against her nomination. 
   
   “Eric Holder began disregarding the Constitution and laws after he was confirmed as attorney general,” the Texas Republican, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, said on the Senate floor shortly after 11 a.m. “Ms. Lynch has told the Senate that’s what she’s going to do. 
   
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   “And that means each and every one of us bears responsibility,” Cruz continued. “In my view, no senator can vote for this confirmation consistent with his or her oath.” 
   
   The Senate later voted 56-43 to confirm Lynch. Cruz was the only member of the chamber not to vote. He did participate on a procedural vote earlier, opposing clearing the path for final confirmation. 
   
   A spokeswoman for Cruz’s presidential campaign said he missed the vote because he had to fly home to Texas for a fundraiser. 
   
   “He voted against cloture which was the most important vote — once invoked, her confirmation was guaranteed,” spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said. “As you know, Sen. Cruz led the charge to oppose her nomination, in interviews, op-eds and a floor speech today. Those responsible for her confirmation are the ones who voted for cloture.” 
   
   The senator has drawn scrutiny over his attendance record in his short time on Capitol Hill. POLITICO reported earlier this week that Cruz has missed the vast majority of hearings for the Armed Services Committee, is below-average in attendance on his other major committees and ranks 97th during the first three months of this year in showing up for Senate floor votes. 
   
   Cruz missed another key Senate vote this week — to pass a sex trafficking bill that was caught up for weeks due to an abortion-related dispute. The vote was 99-0, and Cruz was the sole missing senator then, too. ||||| WASHINGTON–After missing votes on two Texas judicial nominees and a pivotal human trafficking bill, Sen. Ted Cruz came back to the Capitol on Thursday to oppose attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch’s confirmation — and to accuse fellow Republicans of rolling over for the White House by agreeing to install her as nation’s chief law enforcement officer. 
   
   The nomination passed by a 56-43 vote Thursday afternoon. Sen. John Cornyn voted no and Cruz was the only senator to miss it, despite his objections. 
   
   Cruz missed the confirmation vote so he could catch to Texas, said spokeswoman Catherine Frazier in an email. She also said Cruz led the charge against Lynch’s confirmation and those who allowed the vote to proceed are responsible for its success. 
   
   Cruz is expected to be in Dallas on Thursday for a fundraiser hosted by investor Tom Hicks. 
   
   “The Republican majority, if it so chose, could defeat this nomination. But the Republican majority has chosen to go forward and allow Loretta Lynch to be confirmed,” he said on the Senate floor. “There are more than a few voters back home that are asking what exactly is the difference between a Democratic and Republican majority when the exact same individual gets confirmed as Attorney General, promising the exact same lawlessness.” 
   
   Cruz asserted that Lynch would continue a pattern of partisan lawlessness started by current Attorney General Eric Holder. 
   
   “I very much wanted to support Loretta Lynch’s nomination,” said Cruz. But he said, her defense of Obama’s executive actions on immigration and refusal to distance herself from Holder’s views on assorted views maker her unfit and unsuitable for the job. 
   
   Cruz has been intensely critical of Holder and has repeatedly called for his resignation. But he’s been in no hurry to see Lynch installed as the replacement. He voted against cloture – the procedure to end a filibuster – but was on the losing end of a 66-34 vote that cleared the way for a final vote on confirmation. 
   
   Unlike Cruz, Cornyn, the party’s deputy leader, voted for cloture. A dispute over his bill to combat human trafficking had stalled the Lynch vote. Cornyn also has called for Holder to resign. 
   
   Video of Cruz’s floor remarks here.
target: – Today's vote in the Senate to make Loretta Lynch the next attorney general was 56-43. So who was the lone missing senator out of 100? Ted Cruz, which is generating some head scratches considering that he spoke for 10 minutes on the floor of the Senate prior to the vote pleading with his colleagues to reject her. It turns out that Cruz had to catch a flight back to Texas for a fundraiser before the final vote, reports the Dallas Morning News. His spokesperson is downplaying the move, noting that Cruz voted against the procedure for ending a filibuster that cleared the way for a final vote. "He voted for cloture, that was the vote that mattered," says Rick Tyler. "He made the case against her, he voted against her in cloture, and he didn’t prevail." Still, the unusual combination of the presidential candidate blasting Lynch and then being the only senator to skip the vote is making headlines at Politico, BuzzFeed, the Washington Post, and elsewhere. As for Cruz's objection to Lynch, he says she "embraced the lawlessness" that marked the tenure of Eric Holder.