AP Photo/John Bazemore
In 1986, US Attorney Jeff Sessions failed to get appointed to a United States district court in southern Alabama after being nominated by then President Ronald Reagan. The reason? Controversial remarks made by sessions saying that the NAACP and ACLU were “un-American” and “communist-inspired” as he felt that the organizations at the time “forced civil rights down the throats of people.”
This led to Jeff Sessions gaining a reputation for being a racist or holding prejudice against certain groups. Adding on top of this an alleged joke that he felt the KKK was an acceptable organization until he found out that they smoked pot. The controversial comments from sessions; joking or not, have been an area of contention for anyone that would be in charge of legal affairs for many different groups of people.
Now Senator Jeff Sessions, the Associated Press is reporting:
President-elect Donald Trump is offering the post of attorney general to Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, one of the Trump’s closest and most consistent allies.
Sessions is considered to be the fifth-most conservative US Senator who mostly sides with Republican issues. He has been known to support avenues that would create a Federal ban on same-sex marriage and would support putting ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ back into place in the military.
It is unknown whether or not Sessions will accept the role of attorney General, but Sessions has been a lead supporter of Donald Trump for President since he announced his candidacy. The ongoing support for Trump from sessions could have been for the very seat that Trump is offering him.
Trump’s cabinet picks have been controversial in the past several days; with many upset over media executive Steve Bannon being picked as Trump’s chief strategist. In a nation divided on issues of race and sexual orientation, it has been alarming to many that these figures have been picked by Trump who have been previously accused of being discriminatory or prejudice towards certain groups.
Even with Jeff Sessions having a controversial past; if he accepts the seat, he should have no trouble being confirmed by a majority Republican Senate.
Will will continue to keep you updated on this story as more information becomes available.