The former Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee announced Monday he will oppose Sen. Jeff Sessions’ nomination to be the next attorney general.
“The Attorney General must faithfully serve all Americans. After carefully reviewing Senator Sessions’ extensive record, I am not convinced that he meets that threshold standard. So I must oppose this nomination,” Sen. Patrick Leahy said in a statement.
The Vermont Democrat is the only remaining lawmaker who voted against Sessions’ 1986 nomination for federal judgeship. Sessions failed to be confirmed then following accusations of racism.
According to Leahy, he is still unsure that Sessions could be “an independent attorney general.”
“He has failed to provide answers to many of my written questions, including questions regarding his involvement in the drafting of the anti-Muslim executive order that has already disrupted lives and our national security,” Leahy said. He said he is “not confident” that Sessions will be “committed to standing up for the constitutional and statutory rights of the disenfranchised.”
“For these reasons, I am not confident that Sen. Sessions would be an Attorney General for all Americans. I must oppose this nomination,” Leahy concluded.
Under Senate rules that were changed by Democrats in 2013, Democratic opposition to Sessions may not matter. The rules only require a simple majority of the Senate to advance and confirm any of Trump’s nominees, which means Trump can get his Cabinet picks through unless more than two Republican senators oppose them.
