By suggesting Republicans are putting Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch “in the back of the bus,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) has not only drawn the ire of his opponents, but also TVOne host Roland Martin.

Durbin took to the Senate floor on Wednesday to decry the GOP continued efforts to block a nomination vote. “And so, Loretta Lynch, the first African-American woman nominated to be attorney general, is asked to sit in the back of the bus when it comes to the Senate calendar,” he said. “That is unfair. It’s unjust. It is beneath the decorum and dignity of the United States Senate. This woman deserves fairness.”

During a contentious NewsOne Now panel, Martin went hard after the Democratic leader. “I’m not gonna let Dick Durbin off the hook,” he said. By invoking race, Martin explained, Durbin is “aiding the opposition out because they can now focus on you and your comment versus why she’s actually being held up.”

While calling out racially-motivated tactics is often useful, Martin added, this was not an appropriate instance. “We gotta be able to call out a Democrat who does it,” he told his panelists.

Watch the segment below, via TVOne:

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