Attorney General Loretta Lynch has asked not to be nominated to the Supreme Court, a Department of Justice spokeswoman said Tuesday.
“The Attorney General determined that the limitations inherent in the nomination process would curtail her effectiveness in her current role,” DOJ spokeswoman Melanie Newman said in a statement.
Lynch’s decision marked another person ruling themselves out for an opening on the high court created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.
Lynch rose to her current position after a tumultuous confirmation in the Senate ended with a vote largely along partisan lines.
Republican leadership in the Senate has stressed they will not consider any Supreme Court nominee from President Barack Obama. Leading Republican Sen. John Cornyn told reporters on Monday that a potential nominee would “bear some resemblance to a piñata.”
Some court observers, including CNN, had previously viewed Lynch as an unlikely, but possible, nominee.
Last month, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval removed himself for consideration of Scalia’s replacement.