Attorney General Jeff Sessions will no longer speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference this week, a Justice Department official told the Washington Examiner a day after the official and the event’s organizers had confirmed Sessions’ appearance.
Sessions decided not to proceed with the planned speech in part due to ethics restrictions on when the attorney general can appear at a partisan event, the Justice Department official said.
Sessions would have been th
Le 13th Trump administration official confirmed to speak at the three-day conservative gathering just outside Washington, D.C.
President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence will also address the CPAC audience this week. Trump praised American Conservative Union chairman Matt Schlapp for his work on the event in a Tuesday tweet, noting the growth the ACU-organized event has experienced over the past several years.
CPAC begins on Thursday.
A spokesman for the ACU had previously confirmed that the attorney general planned to speak at the event.
Correction: This story originally stated that Sessions would speak at CPAC and has been updated to reflect the change in plans.
