Attorney General Jeff Sessions gave a speech at the International Law Enforcement Academy’s graduation on Friday in El Salvador, saying that serving as the head of the Department of Justice is a “privilege.”
Being attorney general “is an honor I never expected nor one I ever would have thought possible,” Sessions said at the International Law Enforcement Academy’s graduation ceremony in San Salvador.
The Department of State administers ILEA’s by allowing U.S. law enforcement agencies to teach other country’s law enforcement new methods in training and enforcement.
Sessions’ comments come amid tensions with President Trump. Sessions has said he will not resign despite very public comments over the past week from Trump on his disappointment in the attorney general, especially regarding the recusal from the Russia investigation.
“And while there are good days and bad days in any job, one thing has been clear to me, it is a privilege to serve one’s country in law enforcement to wake up each morning and fight the fight for the rule of law,” Sessions said Friday.
He also praised the ILEA and El Salvador’s own law enforcement for collaborating with the U.S. to combat drug and human trafficking, as well as taking down violent transnational gangs such as MS-13, a violent Salvadoran gang that has a strong presence in the U.S.
Trump is in Long Island, N.Y. on Friday to discuss his administration’s efforts to fight the gang.
Trump’s speech in New York comes the day after a top Justice Department official and the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement gave a news conference at the White House touting successful efforts against MS-13.
Sessions has been in El Salvador since yesterday and is expected to return to the United States Friday. Sessions has made fighting crime, especially MS-13, a top priority for his department and has also visited Long Island to talk about such efforts.
