February 08, 2017

Duckworth Votes Against Jeff Sessions for Attorney General

 

WASHINGTON, DC - After voting against the nomination of U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to be Attorney General of the United States, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement.

"America needs a forceful advocate for fairness in its next Attorney General-someone who will fight for justice for all people-not a rubberstamp for the President. Unfortunately, Senator Sessions' record andrefusal to recuse himself from voting on other Trump nominees proves he will not be that person.

"SenatorSessions voted against extending hate crime protections to Americans who are targeted because of their gender, disability or sexual orientation. He argued for religious discrimination against Muslims. He wanted to pass a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage and criticized legal protections for people with disabilities as 'irritating' and 'unnecessary.'

"I am disappointed that Senator Sessions will now be in a position to erode the civil rights countless Americans bled to protect. I worry about what hisDepartment of Justice willmean for our neighbors with disabilities, Americans of all sexual orientations, people of color and others who have historically been denied equal protection under our nation's laws when public officials entrusted to enforce those protections turned a blind eye."

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