On the recordFebruary 6, 2017
I rise today to speak in support of the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions to be the next Attorney General of the United States. I enthusiastically support this nomination, because I know Senator Sessions to be an independent-minded man of great integrity. He is someone who understands and respects the rule of law. He values it deeply, in fact. He is someone who understands the difference between making law and enforcing the law. He understands the difference between setting policy and enforcing laws that contain policy, and he is someone who understands that, as a lawyer, the very best way to serve your client often involves offering honest, independent advice--honest independent advice of the sort that might not always occur to the client on the client's part. I have listened to the remarks of some of my colleagues, and I have to state that I have served with Senator Sessions for the last 6 years, ever since I first became a Member of this body, and I don't recognize the caricature that has been painted of him over the last 24 hours. So I want to address head-on several of my colleagues' expressed concerns about his nomination. Some of my colleagues have expressed and relied upon what really amount to policy concerns--policy disagreements between themselves and Senator Sessions--as a reason to oppose his nomination.…
