Sessions gives way to Enzi for Budget gavel

Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, currently the top Republican on the Budget Committee, announced that he would defer to Enzi’s seniority. Both men were elected to the Senate in 1996, and technically Sessions is slightly senior to Enzi in the chamber. But Enzi outranks Sessions on the budget panel due to a quirky rule that calls for members who join a panel at the same time to draw lots to determine who ranks higher.

“My good friend Mike and I have been close since we both entered the Senate together 18 years ago. We will long remain good and close friends. We have talked and I am deferring to his seniority so that he can lead the Budget Committee as its Chairman beginning in 2015,” Sessions said. “Mike graciously deferred to me two years ago after he timed out on [the health committee] as ranking member, and it has been my enormous privilege to serve as the panel’s ranking member these last four years, as well as to serve as the Judiciary ranking member for the two years before that.”

Sessions is ever a Southern gentleman and most of his three terms passed without fanfare. But his staunch opposition to liberal immigration reforms, and in particular to granting legal status to illegal immigrants, has made him a hero among immigration hawks. Until recently, it was assumed he would become Budget chairman when the GOP took control of the Senate in January.

But that changed recently when Enzi informed Sessions, with whom he has long been close, that he intended to exercise his seniority and seize the gavel. Sessions at first signaled his intent to run against Enzi, in a vote that would have been decided by the GOP members of the committee. Running the panel could fit Enzi’s skill set; the lawmaker was trained as a certified public accountant. Enzi and Sessions had been discussing the matter for several weeks.

“Mike is an accountant and a small businessman who understands the need to balance budgets and tell the truth about the numbers. He is a man of integrity and principle, respected by all of his Senate colleagues. I am eager to assist him next year, and I hope to tackle the important issue of welfare reform,” Sessions said. “I look forward to being active as a senior member on four committees of enormous importance: Armed Services, Budget, Environment and Public Works, and Judiciary. I also look forward to serving as Chairman of critical Senate subcommittees. My roles in the Senate will give me the opportunity to focus on important issues such as defense, national security, federal debt, EPA reform, crime and immigration.”