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Home U.S. News Sessions on track for confirmation over Democratic criticism

Sessions on track for confirmation over Democratic criticism

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By ANDREW TAYLOR and ALAN FRAM

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-led Senate worked nonstop Wednesday toward a confirmation vote on Sen. Jeff Sessions, President Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, who faced a firestorm of Democratic criticism over his record on civil rights and other issues.

Democrats contended Sessions is too close to Trump, too harsh on immigrants, and weak on civil rights. They asserted he wouldn’t do enough to protect voting rights of minorities, protections for gay people, the right of women to procure abortions, and immigrants in the country illegally to receive due process.

Republicans say Sessions has demonstrated over a long career in public service — and two decades in the Senate — that he possesses integrity, honesty, and is committed to justice and the rule of law.

“He’s honest. He’s fair. He’s been a friend to many of us, on both sides of the aisle,” Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on Wednesday. “It’s been tough to watch all this good man has been put through in recent weeks. This is a well-qualified colleague with a deep reverence for the law. He believes strongly in the equal application of it to everyone.”