AG confirmation fireworks a dud
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions had two major advantages over his fellow Cabinet nominees as he went before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the first of a flurry of confirmation hearings — he had a jury of his peers and the benefit of having been there before.
The confirmation hearing for the attorney general nominee lacked the fireworks that had been predicted, despite accusations of racism that have dogged the Alabama Republican for decades and his staunchly conservative views on issues such as immigration and criminal justice reform.
Though opponents, including civil rights leaders and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), are set to lay out a case against him today, Sessions emerged from yesterday’s grilling in a strong position to sail through confirmation.
That’s because he was before a committee on which he has served for almost his entire two-decade career in the Senate, causing even Democrats who questioned his commitment to enforcing voting rights laws and unbiased criminal prosecution policies to do so with a gentle touch — with the exception of one slightly heated exchange with U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.).
Even U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican who rarely wastes a chance to criticize his counterparts across the aisle, said: “I want to commend the Democrats on this committee for showing admirable constraint.”
Sessions was also prepared, having once lost a confirmation battle for a judgeship over charges of racially motivated prosecution of civil rights leaders — a hearing he admitted yesterday that he was not adequately primed for. This time he reportedly spent more than 70 hours being grilled in mock hearings.
Other nominees may not be as lucky, including Rex Tillerson, whose selection as secretary of state goes before the Foreign Relations Committee today. Not only has he never held public office or been subject to a confirmation hearing, his nomination has raised the eyebrows of several Republicans, including U.S. Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Marc Rubio, over his ties to Russia.
That gives Democrats far more incentive to be more aggressive, and yesterday Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer got the ball rolling.
“There are reports in the media that under Rex Tillerson’s leadership, Exxon conducted business with Iran, potentially in violation of U.S. sanctions law,” Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the Senate floor. “So there are really serious questions that need to be answered.”