Hillary, Bernie Join the Fray Against Sessions

At least four Democrats have uttered the same passage on the Senate floor from Coretta Scott King’s 1986 statement against Sessions’ federal judge nomination that got Warren punished: Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall, Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats. The Democrats’ move intensifies an already polarized debate over confirming Sessions, an Alabama Republican who lost his bid to join the federal bench following controversy over his civil rights record, but who is on track to win confirmation Wednesday to lead the Justice Department. Warren drew objections from Republicans for reading King’s critical letter and charged her with violating a Senate rule against impugning the character of another senator; she was silenced from speaking further during the Sessions debate after Republicans cast a party-line vote against her on Tuesday night.