WASHINGTON ― President-elect Donald Trump has reportedly offered Republican Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions ― who was rejected as a federal judge in 1986 due to allegations of racist comments ― the position of attorney general.
Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, 69, would serve as the nation’s top law enforcement official if nominated by Trump and confirmed by his fellow members of the Senate. Sessions, an early Trump backer, is an immigration hard-liner who has been in the Senate since 1997 and previously served as attorney general for the state of Alabama.
Back in the mid-1980s, when Sessions was U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, President Ronald Reagan nominated him to become a federal judge. But during the nomination process, allegations emerged that Sessions had called a black attorney “boy,” that he suggested a white civil rights lawyer was a race traitor, that he joked he liked the Ku Klux Klan until he found out they smoked marijuana and that he referred to civil rights groups as “un-American” organizations trying to “force civil rights down the throats of people who were trying to put problems behind them.”
After his nomination was defeated, Sessions continued on as U.S. attorney for several years, until the end of the George H.W. Bush administration.
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) issued a statement Thursday night that said Sessions had the necessary experience to be the nation’s top law enforcement official.
“Not only would Jeff bring integrity and immense expertise to the role of Attorney General due to his decades of experience in the legal field and an impressive tenure on the Senate Judiciary Committee, but Jeff has also gained the deep respect of his Senate colleagues for his commitment to upholding the rule of law,” Shelby said. “My wife Annette and I are proud of Jeff’s accomplishments and wish him and his wife Mary the very best during this exciting transition.”
As attorney general, Sessions would likely exercise broad influence over U.S. law enforcement, immigration policy and, specifically, how our immigration laws are enforced.
Trump has repeatedly promised to deport millions of undocumented residents, a position that dovetails with Sessions’ fervent opposition to any immigration reform. Sessions is especially opposed to proposals that could be seen as a “path to citizenship” for some of the 11 million undocumented immigrants who are currently living and working in the United States.
Sessions, who attended all-white segregated schools, was named for Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War, and Confederate Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, who was “instrumental” in the adoption of the Confederate battle flag. He spoke earlier this year about his regrets about not getting involved in the civil rights movement as a young adult.
“As a child and a teenager, I saw evidence of discrimination virtually every day,” Sessions said. “Certainly I feel like I should have stepped forward more and been a leader and a more positive force in the great events that were occurring.”
But by the time Sessions was a top federal prosecutor, he apparently thought civil rights progress had gone far enough, as he explained to the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1986. Sessions had been asked to explain why he had reportedly used phrases like “un-American” to describe groups like the ACLU and NAACP.
“I made the comment that the fundamental legal barriers to minorities had been knocked down, and that in many areas blacks dominate the political area, and that when the civil rights organizations or the ACLU participate in asking for things beyond what they are justified in asking, they do more harm than good,” Sessions testified.
Sessions’ name has emerged as the Department of Justice begins working with the Trump transition team.
“The Justice Department is now in contact with the President-elect’s transition representatives and will begin to brief those individuals. We are fully prepared to assist the incoming transition team,” a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement. “As the President has said, we are committed to a smooth and successful transition.”
Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, 69, would serve as the nation’s top law enforcement official if nominated by Trump and confirmed by his fellow members of the Senate. Sessions, an early Trump backer, is an immigration hard-liner who has been in the Senate since 1997 and previously served as attorney general for the state of Alabama.
Back in the mid-1980s, when Sessions was U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, President Ronald Reagan nominated him to become a federal judge. But during the nomination process, allegations emerged that Sessions had called a black attorney “boy,” that he suggested a white civil rights lawyer was a race traitor, that he joked he liked the Ku Klux Klan until he found out they smoked marijuana and that he referred to civil rights groups as “un-American” organizations trying to “force civil rights down the throats of people who were trying to put problems behind them.”
After his nomination was defeated, Sessions continued on as U.S. attorney for several years, until the end of the George H.W. Bush administration.
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) issued a statement Thursday night that said Sessions had the necessary experience to be the nation’s top law enforcement official.
“Not only would Jeff bring integrity and immense expertise to the role of Attorney General due to his decades of experience in the legal field and an impressive tenure on the Senate Judiciary Committee, but Jeff has also gained the deep respect of his Senate colleagues for his commitment to upholding the rule of law,” Shelby said. “My wife Annette and I are proud of Jeff’s accomplishments and wish him and his wife Mary the very best during this exciting transition.”
As attorney general, Sessions would likely exercise broad influence over U.S. law enforcement, immigration policy and, specifically, how our immigration laws are enforced.
Trump has repeatedly promised to deport millions of undocumented residents, a position that dovetails with Sessions’ fervent opposition to any immigration reform. Sessions is especially opposed to proposals that could be seen as a “path to citizenship” for some of the 11 million undocumented immigrants who are currently living and working in the United States.
Sessions, who attended all-white segregated schools, was named for Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War, and Confederate Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, who was “instrumental” in the adoption of the Confederate battle flag. He spoke earlier this year about his regrets about not getting involved in the civil rights movement as a young adult.
“As a child and a teenager, I saw evidence of discrimination virtually every day,” Sessions said. “Certainly I feel like I should have stepped forward more and been a leader and a more positive force in the great events that were occurring.”
But by the time Sessions was a top federal prosecutor, he apparently thought civil rights progress had gone far enough, as he explained to the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1986. Sessions had been asked to explain why he had reportedly used phrases like “un-American” to describe groups like the ACLU and NAACP.
“I made the comment that the fundamental legal barriers to minorities had been knocked down, and that in many areas blacks dominate the political area, and that when the civil rights organizations or the ACLU participate in asking for things beyond what they are justified in asking, they do more harm than good,” Sessions testified.
Sessions’ name has emerged as the Department of Justice begins working with the Trump transition team.
“The Justice Department is now in contact with the President-elect’s transition representatives and will begin to brief those individuals. We are fully prepared to assist the incoming transition team,” a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement. “As the President has said, we are committed to a smooth and successful transition.”
