McCollum: Alabama Senator’s Extreme Views Disqualify Him as U.S. Attorney General

Jan 10, 2017 Issues: Civil Rights and Justice

The Senate Judiciary Committee is conducting confirmation hearings this week on President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to be Attorney General, the top law enforcement official and defender of civil rights in the United States. Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.) issued the following statement in opposition to the confirmation of Senator Sessions:

“Every American has a stake in ensuring that the United States Attorney General will protect and defend the Constitution and the civil rights of all men and women regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability or immigration status.

“Yet Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions has a record that the New York Times has described as ‘a toxic cloud of hostility to racial equality, voting rights, women’s rights, criminal justice reform, and other issues at the heart of the Justice Department’s mandate.’

“In 1986, the U.S. Senate rejected Sessions as a judicial nominee because of his racist views, such as calling the NAACP ‘un-American.’  Those views, including his opposition to critical parts of the Voting Rights Act, should frighten the American people.

“When it comes to women’s rights, Sessions voted just four years ago — in 2013 — against the Violence Against Women Act. He has embraced an extremely narrow definition of sexual assault and has doggedly tried to prevent women from accessing reproductive health care.

“As a Senator, Sessions has also fiercely opposed LGBT rights. Just seven years ago — in 2009 — Sessions voted against a hate crimes law that protects LGBT Americans. He has also supported amending the United States Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

“In short, Sessions has built his career attacking the civil rights of minorities, women, and the LGBT community. He cannot be trusted to secure the rights of the American people as Attorney General. I urge the U.S. Senate to reject the Sessions nomination.”