Today the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin its confirmation hearing on Senator Jeff Sessions, a nominee whose record clearly indicates that he is absolutely not qualified to serve as United States Attorney General. Senator Sessions’ record on voting rights, anti-discrimination protections, policing practices, government surveillance, immigrants’ rights and more demonstrates that he is far outside the mainstream and in no way qualified to head the federal agency charged with protecting and advancing justice in this country.
 
Senator Sessions’ record on basic civil rights is deeply disturbing. He has repeatedly opposed legislation that would make our nation more fair and just, including the Voting Rights Act, the Violence Against Women Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. He defended discrimination on the basis of religion by supporting a ban on Muslims entering the United States. He has embraced policies that oppose birthright citizenship and legal immigration. This fall, he called it ‘a stretch’ to say that grabbing women by their genitals, without consent, was sexual assault.
 
MomsRising members across the country oppose this nomination and they are urging their senators to refuse to confirm Sessions. We need a champion for justice to serve as the nation’s attorney general, not a nominee whose record and rhetoric have long promoted hatred and division. This is a moment when all Americans, and the lawmakers who represent us, need to show our children that we will stand up for the rights of everyone to live, work, love and thrive. Doing that means opposing this nominee, whose appointment would tear at the very fabric of our democracy. We urge every member of the Judiciary Committee and every senator to reject the Sessions nomination.