After one of the most heated battles over an attorney general nominee in the nation’s history, the Senate voted to confirm Sen. Jeff Sessions and set into motion a Trump war on civil rights.
The final vote was along party lines, 52-47 with 1 vote present in favor of confirmation.
It was telling that throughout the Republican remarks on the Senate floor before the vote there was no discussion of Sen. Sessions’ record on civil rights. Instead, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell came to the Senate floor to tell stories about what a good old boy Sessions is. McConnell was sure to mention Sessions’ favorite flavor of Blizzard from Dairy Queen, but he made no mention of the Senator from Alabama’s opposition to civil rights legislation for minorities, women, and the LGBT community.
Senate Democrats spoke high and low about their fears that Sessions would not be an independent attorney general who could act as a check on Donald Trump. Democrats put up a fantastic fight, but in the end, the numbers won.
What the reality of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General means for the United States is that the country is about to take a huge step backward in the enforcement and protection of civil rights. Those who care about civil liberties had best prepare for war because Jeff Sessions will never check Donald Trump. Sessions will turn the Justice Department into a Trump enablement operation.