WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees (all times local):
11:25 a.m.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions to be attorney general after angry exchanges between Republicans and Democrats.
The 11-9 vote was along party lines. All the panel’s Democrats voted against the nomination.
The Alabama Republican is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate. Republicans have been strongly supportive of their colleague, arguing that he will follow the law and maintain traditional independence from President Donald Trump, if needed.
Democrats have expressed doubts that he would be able to say no to the president since he was one of his earliest and strongest defenders in the presidential campaign.
They also expressed concerns about whether Sessions would be committed to civil rights, a chief priority of the Obama administration.
__
CLIP: Exchange between @SenFranken and @JohnCornyn during Franken’s statement on Attorney General nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions. pic.twitter.com/yk5rhWeZUf
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 1, 2017
11:10 a.m.
Tempers flared in the usually decorous Senate as the Judiciary Committee weighed a vote on attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions.
Democratic Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota and Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas traded charges on Wednesday over previous committee testimony.
Franken said he wanted to set the record straight and complained that his integrity had been abused.
Cornyn interrupted Franken as Republicans tried to move ahead and vote on the nominee.
1 comment
The Obama administration was voted out with the crash and burn of Hilliary Clinton. No one cares what the last administration thinks. Sessions will protect civil rights and the Constitution in case the left cares.