Backers of legal pot horrified by Trump’s selection of Sessions

And Sessions – a man who has, in the past, shown some bitterness over the fact that Abraham Lincoln “killed” one of his ancestors – will follow Eric Holder and Loretta E. Lynch, the first African American and first African American woman, respectively, to lead the Justice Department. There is no doubt in our minds that Senator Sessions will excel in this new role. Sessions later withdrew from consideration, though he went on to become state attorney general and won election to the U.S. Senate in 1996.

Sessions has opposed lowering mandatory minimum sentences for low-level offenders.

Sessions has tangled with the past two Democratic attorneys general on whether terrorism suspects deserve American constitutional rights in civilian court and on the planned closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, D-Ill., did not mince words when revealing his opinion of attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions, saying he is a “racist” who will set the civil rights movement back 50 years.

Sessions had been confirmed by a Republican-controlled Senate in 1981 to be the USA attorney for the Southern District of Alabama.

Abe said after the 90 minute meeting in NY that Trump was a leader “in whom I can have great confidence”. He was denied a federal judgeship in 1986 over those comments and others that were deemed racist. The second nomination was rejected after lawyers who worked with Sessions testified during the confirmation hearings that he had made several controversial comments.

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated U.S. Sen.

Federal civil rights law is expansive, but it does not enforce itself. Reached earlier this week and asked about the Sessions speculation, Benard H. Simelton, head of the Alabama chapter of the NAACP, told The Watch that he expects Sessions would “move the country back, especially on civil rights and human rights”. Convivial, with a pixie-like demeanor and soft Southern accent, his gentle manner belies his hard-line positions.

“It’s time to end the politicization of the Justice Department and start defending the rule of law, and I’m confident that as our top law enforcement official Senator Sessions will do that”.

During the hearing, a former assistant USA attorney, Thomas Figures, who is black, said Sessions referred to him as “boy”, and told him to be careful what he said to “white folks”.

“The president-elect has been unbelievably impressed with Senator Sessions and his phenomenal record as Alabama’s attorney general and USA attorney”, Trump’s transition team said in a statement on Thursday.

“I enthusiastically embrace president-elect Trump’s vision for ‘one America, ‘ and his commitment to equal justice under law”.

He says he considers radical Islam the greatest threat to global stability and has been critical of the Obama administration’s policies in fighting the Islamic State (IS) group. Trump said in a statement Friday that Flynn would be “by my side as we work to defeat radical Islamic terrorism, navigate geopolitical challenges and keep Americans safe at home and overseas”. “No senator has fought harder against the hopes and aspirations of Latinos, immigrants, and people of color than Senator Sessions”.

Sessions is known for his tough stance on immigration.

The former United States attorney for the Southern District of Alabama and Alabama attorney general isn’t without controversy.

He also could increase enforcement on companies that outsource technology jobs.

In a 2005 Washington Post op-ed, he argued that “Legal immigration is the primary source of low-wage immigration into the United States” and that the country needed immigration moderation, “slowing the pace of new arrivals so that wages can rise, welfare rolls can shrink and the forces of assimilation can knit us all more closely together”.

Transition officials announced new teams that will interact with the State Department, Pentagon, Justice Department and other national security agencies as part of the government transition before his January 20 inauguration.

During the campaign, Sessions was a loyal source of rumor and innuendo for Trump, feeding into conspiracy theories like “Hillary Clinton is hiding a health problem”. He has led Trump’s national security committee since March and was named vice chairman of the transition’s executive committee last week.