Several influential leaders of the grassroots conservative movement defended Attorney General Jeff Sessions after President Trump fired off another round of shots at the former senator in a series of tweets posted Tuesday morning, urging the president to leave Sessions in his post.
Trump, who in recent days has openly criticized Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation, accused him of taking a “weak position on [Hillary Clinton’s] crimes.” In light of these conflicts, the president is reportedly considering firing Sessions.
In response, several high-profile conservatives who have been supportive of the president since he won the primary race last summer released statements reaffirming their strong confidence in Sessions.
Jim DeMint, the former president of the Heritage Foundation who now serves as chairman of the Conservative Partnership Institute, said he hoped Trump would see Sessions as a “great leader” who “will defend” the Constitution and rule of law. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins praised Sessions for “[ushering] in a new era at DOJ” in his own statement, writing, “Attorney General Jeff Sessions has in a very short time restored the Justice Department’s reputation as one that upholds the law — not circumvents or undermines it.”
Ken Blackwell, a key member on the president’s transition team, underscored Sessions’ “loyalty” to Trump. “[Attorney] General Sessions is both keeping America safe and helping the President keep his campaign promises; he is a huge asset to this Administration,” Blackwell noted in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
Pointing to Sessions’ willingness to fight back against “lawlessness” in the Obama administration when it came to immigration policy enforcement, Jenny Beth Martin of the Tea Party Patriots declared in her statement that the attorney general “has been one of the strongest and most consistent allies we have and can think of no better person to serve as President Trump’s Attorney General.”
In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Martin said there was “a great deal of admiration from the grassroots towards Jeff Sessions,” adding that this admiration “has been expressed, unprompted, over the past 48 to 72 hours.”
The Tea Party Patriots co-founder looked back on Sessions’ early support for Trump as well. “Jeff Sessions, that endorsement before Super Tuesday helped change the trajectory of the election,” she recalled, arguing that Sessions “added gravitas to Trump that he may not have had from some voters before that.”
Now, from his perch atop the Justice Department Sessions is helping Trump fulfill campaign promises, Martin explained. “President Trump, with his vision for securing the border and Attorney General Sessions’ understanding of the laws and how to enforce the immigration laws, is getting the desired results people wanted when they elected Trump,” she said.
Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
