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For Immediate Release
January, 29 2017, 11:00pm EDT
Contact:
Scott Simpson, Simpson@civilrights.org, (202) 466-2061
Advocates Urge Delay of Sessions Vote to Examine His Role with President's Executive Orders and Proposals
Today, 187 national advocacy groups are calling for the committee vote on the Jeff Sessions nomination for Attorney General to be delayed given the lack of information on how Senator Sessions views and intends to implement the many executive orders that have been signed since his hearing. Collegiality for Senator Sessions has no place in this inquiry.
WASHINGTON
Today, 187 national advocacy groups are calling for the committee vote on the Jeff Sessions nomination for Attorney General to be delayed given the lack of information on how Senator Sessions views and intends to implement the many executive orders that have been signed since his hearing. Collegiality for Senator Sessions has no place in this inquiry.
Since the Sessions confirmation hearing on January 10, the President has issued deeply controversial executive orders that attempt to ban entry of people from Muslim-majority countries, suspend our refugee program, and make drastic changes to immigration enforcement. He's also promised to sign an order for a quixotic investigation into already resolved voting issues.
In a letter sent to Chairman Grassley earlier today, the groups are urging a delay to find out where Senator Sessions stands on these issues.
"It would be hard to overstate the urgency and importance of these recent developments," the groups wrote. "The Senate cannot meaningfully carry out its constitutional obligation, under Article II of the Constitution, to exercise 'advice and consent' on the nomination without Senator Sessions providing the Committee with his views on the president's actions and proposals since his inauguration."
"Many of these proposals echo the worst of Senator Sessions' ominous record of hostility to equality under the law," said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. "Should his committee let this nomination move without any further investigation, Chairman Grassley would look much more like a lapdog to the President than the independent senator he claims to be."
Click here to read the letter.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. Through advocacy and outreach to targeted constituencies, The Leadership Conference works toward the goal of a more open and just society - an America as good as its ideals.
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