Araweelo News Network
Republican US Senator Jeff Sessions testifies during his Senate confirmation hearing to be attorney general before the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 10, 2017. ( AFP photo)
Washington(ANN)-The US Senate in Congress has confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, despite fierce opposition by Democrats over the lawmaker’s record on civil rights and immigration.
Sessions, 70, was confirmed on Wednesday by a 52-47 vote to lead the powerful US Justice Department, followings weeks of divisive battles in the Senate.
Sessions, an early supporter of Trump, will become America’s top law enforcement official after two decades of representing the state of Alabama in the upper chamber of Congress.
The Justice Department is responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice in the United States, equivalent to the interior or justice ministries of other nations.
Democratic lawmakers, civil rights and immigration advocacy groups have expressed concern about Sessions’ controversial positions on race, immigration and criminal justice reform.
Civil liberties advocacy groups worry that the Justice Department’s civil rights division will not actively prosecute rights violations under Sessions.
He will begin leading the Justice Department as its attorneys are defending Trump’s temporary Muslim travel ban in a federal appeals court in San Francisco, California.
Sessions has pushed to limit immigration into the United States, including by those who enter legally on work permits. He has also voted against many measures to reduce sentences for prisoners.
Sessions has pushed to limit immigration into the United States, including by those who enter legally on work permits. He has also voted against many measures to reduce sentences for prisoners.
The Center for American Progress, a policy research organization in Washington, DC, said Sessions will like not be an independent legal voice to challenge Trump’s agenda.
“Trump has shown little respect for the courts or the constitutional limits on his power, and there is no reason to think that Attorney General Sessions will act as an independent check on the president,” said Michele Jawando, vice president for legal progress at the think tank.