The amount of personal and political separation between President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions has increased since yesterday, though no more directed swipes have been taken.
Both responded to the much-anticipated Department of Justice’s Inspector General report on the FBI’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation with criticism of the bureau, but their words demonstrate that what is ultimately responsible for the division between them is how differently they operate in the political sphere.
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Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a government-wide legal guidance memo on Friday that encourages sweeping protection of religious freedom within government agencies. The 25-page memo delivered to every federal agency could impact important policy decisions across federal agencies, and the announcement comes as a direct result of an executive order signed in May by President Trump, promoting religious liberty.
In his statement, Sessions said:
“Our freedom as citizens has always been inextricably linked with our religious freedom as a people. It has protected both the freedom to worship and the freedom not to believe. Every American has a right to believe, worship, and exercise their faith. The protections for this right, enshrined in our Constitution and laws, serve to declare and protect this important part of our heritage.
“As President Trump said, ‘Faith is deeply embedded into the history of our country, the spirit of our founding and the soul of our nation . . . [this administration] will not allow people of faith to be targeted, bullied or silenced anymore.’
“The constitutional protection of religious beliefs and the right to exercise those beliefs have served this country well, have made us one of the most tolerant countries in the world, and have also helped make us the freeist and most generous. President Trump promised that this administration would ‘lead by example on religious liberty,’ and he is delivering on that promise.”
The administration has also announced that private businesses with a religious objection to the contraception requirement of Obamacare will be exempt from that requirement. They have presumably done so because of the Hobby Lobby case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “closely held companies” do not lose their religious liberties just because they go into business. In that case, the U.S. government were denying Hobby Lobby owners their right to live out their sincerely-held faith in their business by forcing them to pay huge fines if they didn’t agree to violate their own religious beliefs by providing employee health plans that included drugs and devices that can terminate life.
Religious organizations immediately praised the actions of Sessions and the Justice Department as a welcome change from the anti-faith policies of the previous administration. Officials say that the legal guidance is not intended to legalize discrimination, but to ensure that religious organizations are viewed equally with secular ones in the eyes of the law. Sessions also announced that any proposed federal agency action sent to the Department of Justice will be vetted by the Justice’s Office of Legal Policy and Civil Rights Division for any adverse effect on religious liberty protections.
On Thursday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that his Justice Department is reviving a Bush-era crime policy that focuses on strict prosecution of gun and gang related crimes. The program is known as Project Safe Neighborhoods, and is the next step in the Trump administration’s tough-on-crime agenda.
According to POLITICO, the project is a large scale effort to crack down on drug traffic, gang violence, and gun crimes in communities. It develops plans for federal prosecutors to work with local police in order to get the most violent criminals off the streets.
“We cannot afford to be complacent in the face of violence that threatens too many of our communities,” Sessions said in his memo on the project. “All United States Attorneys must implement an enhanced violent crime reduction program that incorporates the lessons learned since the original program’s launch in 2001 and leverages new strategies to help turn the tide against violent crime.”
Project Safe Neighborhoods began as an effort to insure that those using guns in crimes got mandatory prison sentences. Part of the plan moves certain gun crimes to federal court, where they carry longer sentences in federal prisons. It also includes changes in how authorities process traces for guns used in violent crimes. Those linked to crime scenes would be given priority, with a goal of completing the trace in 24 hours.
Session’s department has been critical of the Obama administration’s handling of the project. DOJ officials noted that violent crime has risen over the past few years, making a federal response even more critical. The Department of Justice and Trump administration have set aside $70 million for the effort.
President Trump, along with officials from the Department of Justice, announced on Sunday a new set of travel restrictions on an expanded set of countries. The announcement comes just before major parts of the previous travel ban were set to expire. The new restrictions will replace the existing travel ban that denies visas to citizens of six Muslim-majority countries with ties to terrorism. The new ban includes all but one of the countries on the previous list.
According to Politico, the nations facing indefinite restrictions of travel under the new policy are Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen.
This list drops Sudan, which appears on the current travel ban, and adds North Korea and Venezuela to mix. Existing visa holders are exempt, and those with ties to the U.S. are still capable of receiving waivers. The revised policy is set to take effect on October 18.
“We are taking action today to protect the safety and security of the American people by establishing a minimum security baseline for entry into the United States,” Trump said in a statement. “We cannot afford to continue the failed policies of the past, which present an unacceptable danger to our country. My highest obligation is to ensure the safety and security of the American people, and in issuing this new travel order, I am fulfilling that sacred obligation.”
When asked about what provisions he would like to see in the new travel restrictions, Trump replied, “The tougher the better.”
While the new order restricts travel from two non-Muslim nations – North Korea and Venezuela – many critics see those as symbolic. Only around 110 North Koreans obtained travel visas to the U.S. in the previous fiscal year, and the restrictions on Venezuela only apply to government officials. Many see these additions as an attempt to make the ban seem less targeted on Muslims. Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) maintains that “no amount of repackaging can disguise the fact that the intent behind the ban was and remains a noxious attempt to ban people based on their faith.”
A White House official who spoke to Politico under the condition of anonymity ensured that “the restrictions, whether previously or now, were never ever, ever based on race, religion or creed.” The new restrictions are based on a recent review of countries who are or are not complying with U.S. requests for information regarding threats of terrorism from respective travelers. For example, Iraq was removed from the ban in March for its partnership with U.S. officials in the fight against the Islamic State.
The new ban comes as litigation over the original policy is set to appear before the Supreme Court. The highest court in the nation is set to hear arguments on October 10 over the legality of the measure, but justices have already warned that the case may be moot due to the time limit of that directive.
Earlier today President Trump announced that he will be in Huntsville next Saturday in a show of support for Sen. Luther Strange’s Senatorial campaign.
Sen. Strange and Roy Moore are currently caught up in a highly contested election for Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ Senate seat. After President Trump was elected, he announced that Sessions would lead the Justice Department, leaving his Senate seat vacant. Shortly after, Strange was appointed to fill the seat until an election could be held.
During the primary election earlier this summer, President Trump publicly endorsed Strange. Now that Strange and Moore have entered the runoff, the President has made clear that he is wholeheartedly supporting “Big Luther.”
In his tweet from today, President Trump said, “I will be in Huntsville, Alabama, on Saturday night to support Luther Strange for Senate. “Big Luther” is a great guy who gets things done!”
Speaking to his enthusiasm for President Trump’s unwavering support, Sen. Strange said, “I am proud to have President Trump’s endorsement in this race and I am looking forward to his trip to Alabama. It is an honor to work hard beside him to deliver upon his promises to the American people, like achieving tax relief for hard working Americans and building the wall on our southern border.”
On Monday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is expected to announce the Trump administration’s plans to roll back more Obama-era restrictions. According to The New York Times, the administration plans to fully restore a program that allows the Pentagon to transfer military surplus – such as large caliber weapons and grenade launchers – to local police departments.
Sessions is expected to make the announcement at a Fraternal Order of Police conference in Nashville. There has been some confusion as to why Sessions would make an announcement about a Pentagon program, however he has been critical in reversing Obama-era policing reforms. Sessions has also taken the lead in building a strong relationship between police forces and the Trump administration.
The program started in the 1990s as a way to bolster local police agencies fighting the drug war. It gave police departments easier and cheaper access to sniper rifles, armored cars, and riot gear. However, after the shooting death of Michael Brown triggered violent protests and a heavily armed police response in Ferguson, Missouri, President Obama placed significant limits on the program. He prohibited transfers of weaponized vehicles, large caliber ammunition, explosives, battering rams, and riot gear. “We’ve seen how militarized gear can sometimes give people a feeling like they’re an occupying force,” Obama said.
Trump believes that the program is simply a way to equip law enforcement to effectively handle any situation that may arise in their communities. His executive order would erase Obama’s 2015 restrictions and restore the program in its entirety. In a document obtained by the New York Times, the administration calls the military equipment “entirely defensive in nature.” It also describes these changes as a “policy shift toward ensuring officers have the tools they need to reduce crime and keep their communities safe.”
This week has already shaped up to be a rollercoaster ride for the White House, and it’s just Tuesday. After President Trump had let Reince Priebus go and hired General John Kelly as his Chief of Staff, Anthony Scaraumucci was ousted as communications director. Trump fired Scaramucci after just ten days in the position, at Kelly’s request. As Kelly takes the reigns of the White House staff, it seems he also plans to crack down on the leaks that have plagued the administration.
A commitment to stop these leaks extend beyond the White House. Attorney General Sessions is also getting involved and is set to announce a major crackdown on the administration “leakers” in a press conference on Friday.
According to Fox News, the announcement will likely not mention any specific investigations but will give an overview of what the DOJ hopes to accomplish. Last month, the Senate’s homeland security panel released a report estimating that the Trump administration has had about one leak per day.
The announcement comes after a rocky few weeks between the previous Alabama Senator and the President. Trump has recently railed on the Attorney General for recusing himself from the Russian investigation. For a while, it seemed like Sessions would be the next to go, but overwhelming support from his colleagues in the Senate has seemed to hold Trump back.
RELATED: Graham: “There Will Be Holy Hell To Pay” If Jeff Sessions Is Fired
Meanwhile, Jeff Sessions continues to advance the Trump administration’s agenda. Just last week, he traveled to El Salvador to begin his attack on the violent street gang MS-13. As the DOJ dives into the correspondence of the administration, it will be interesting to see what other shake-ups and leaks lay ahead.
In a rather extraordinary message aimed at the President of the United States, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told CNN there would be “holy hell to pay” if Donald Trump fires Jeff Sessions.
Below are Graham’s exact comments,
As a human being, I think he should show respect for Jeff Sessions as a person. Jeff Sessions was the most loyal supporter of Donald Trump. A rock-solid conservative. The reason I like him so much is I often disagree with him, but I’d never believed he was a man who lacks integrity or fair play. This effort to basically marginalize and humiliate the attorney general is not going over well in the Senate. I don’t think it’s going over well in the conservative world. If you believe Jeff Sessions should be fired, use the power you have and accept the consequences. I hope it stops. I’m 100% behind Jeff Sessions. The chairman of the Judiciary Committee sent a pretty chilling tweet yesterday. There will be no confirmation for a new attorney general in 2017. If Jeff Sessions is fired, there will be holy hell to pay. Any effort to go after Mueller could be the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency unless Mueller did something wrong.
The reason this is more than rhetoric is two-fold. Graham has been on the edge of every major Senate vote, and with the Republican’s razor-thin majority in the upper chamber, they can ill afford to lose his votes. Far more important is what Graham referred to in his comments—the Senate confirmation for Trump appointees.
CNN reported that Trump “has made 237 nominations and has just 51 confirmations, according to CNN data…”
Many of these confirmations are for undersecretaries whose work is vital to the cabinet members Trump has appointed, and therefore vital to the administration’s success. With federal agencies still full of Obama appointees the Trump team hopes to soon replace, if these confirmations are iced or significantly delayed, the President’s ability to implement his policies will be severely impeded.
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who Graham referred to in his statement, Tweeted,
Everybody in D.C. Shld b warned that the agenda for the judiciary Comm is set for rest of 2017. Judges first subcabinet 2nd / AG no way
All of this raises significant questions about our constitutional republic and the separation of powers. Is this exactly how the legislative branch is supposed to keep the executive branch in check? Or, is this an example of the legislative branch abdicating its duties and hurting the country by getting even at the President?
However one may view these questions, one thing is certain: when United States Senators are telling the President of the United States from their own political party that they will ice his agenda if he fires their former colleague, their respect and esteem for Jeff Sessions is incredibly high and their allegiance to him is unwavering.
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U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R) will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, marking his first Congressional testimony since his confirmation in February. Sessions’ testimony follows the appearance of former FBI Director James Comey before the same committee, and some senators will likely grill their former Alabama colleague regarding alleged contacts with Russian officials during the 2016 presidential election.
The hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. CST.
In early March, Sessions recused himself from current or future investigations regarding the Trump campaign. “I think I should not be involved in an investigation of a campaign I had a role in,” he said.
Sessions has repeatedly denied allegations of improper contact with Russians. “I never had a meeting with Russian operatives or Russian intermediaries during the campaign,” he said.
As Yellowhammer reported in March then-Senator Sessions did meet with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak while the campaign was going on, but he maintains those meetings were part of his duties as a U.S. Senator on the Armed Services committee, and had nothing to do with his campaign. His first exchange with Kislyak was following a speech to foreign ambassadors at the Heritage Foundation and the second was when Kislyak and about twenty other ambassadors visited Sessions’ office. Nevertheless, Democrats claim these meetings contradict Sessions’ testimony in his confirmation hearings, while Sessions adamantly states that he was fully honest during the course of his confirmation hearings, pointing out that his discussions with Kislyak were not related to campaign activities.
Sessions spokesperson Sarah Flores told the Washington Post that there is a difference between campaign and normal senatorial activity. “He was asked during the hearing about communications between Russia and the Trump campaign — not about meetings he took as a senator and a member of the Armed Services Committee,” She said.
The Attorney General backed up his original assertion again during a March appearance on NBC’s Meet The Press. “I have not met with any Russians at any time to discuss any political campaign and those remarks are unbelievable to me and are false,” he said. “And I don’t have anything else to say about that.”
Ultimately, Sessions amended his original testimony regarding an answer he gave on the issue to Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.). “I did not mention communications I had had with the Russian ambassador over the years because the question did not ask about them,” Sessions wrote.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an interview with Fox New’s Shannon Bream, Alabama Senator and Trump surrogate Jeff Sessions took to the airwaves to discuss how Trump’s plan for the economy is the best for poor African-Americans.
“[This election] is about, who can fix this economy, who can put us on the right track,” he said.
Sessions noted that an large influx of immigrants could harm low-wage workers already living here. Among those, he pointed out, are many in the African-American community.
“Does it help poor African-Americans to bring in more labor than we have and bring down wages as we’ve been seeing into this country? Does it help them to have bad trade deals so that manufacturing plants are — are closed and wages aren’t there?” he said. “We have the highest — almost double the unemployment rate among young African-Americans than we do among others. So we need to protect this economy, create — have a strong leader who can break up this log jam in Washington.”
Long before the Trump candidacy, Sessions has been one of the most outspoken federal officials on the issues of trade and immigration control. Agreement on those key issues is what brought the Alabama Senator to ultimately endorse the New York billionaire and join his team as a national security advisor.
Sessions has taken action in the Senate to control and restrict the use of the H1B visa, which allows companies to bring in high-skilled labor from foreign countries. He has also actively pushed for more border security and the defunding of sanctuary cities.
RELATED: Shelby, Sessions push to defund sanctuary cities
Late last month, the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest, headed by Sen. Sessions, determined the cost of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s refugee plan to be roughly $403 billion.
RELATED:
1. Sessions-led committee estimates Hillary’s refugee plan would cost a jaw-dropping $400B
2. Sessions calls for hesitant GOP leaders to get on Trump Train: ‘Look at the election returns’
Sessions’ full interview on Fox New can be viewed below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJhz5sgsVgw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMh1B7DZ-kA&feature=youtu.be
(Video Above: Senator Sessions explains what Obama’s “Fast-track” legislation really means for the U.S. )
WASHINGTON — After months of back and forth, the U.S. Senate gave final passage to the Trade Promotion Authority Wednesday, giving President Obama a “fast track” to usher through trade agreements. Despite Congress not taking his advice and denying Obama the expansion of executive power he sought, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions (R) had a few things to say about the controversial program on the Senate floor. Here the top 10:
1. A Transnational Union?
“Why do we have to create a transnational union? An institution that has the power as I will explain, to impact the laws of the United States of America. It’s not necessary”
2. On the reality of ObamaTrade
“It will be a living agreement, and that means that the entity itself, the commission will then be entitled to make it say different things, eliminate provisions it doesn’t like, add provisions it does like, in fact the commission is required to meet regularly and to hear advice for changes from outside groups…”
3. The European Union
“It says it’s designed to promote the international movement of people, services, and products. Basically the same language used to start the European Union.”
4. Not merely a trade agreement
“It’s not just a trade agreement with one friend and ally South Korea, it’s 12 nations in the Pacific…”
5. Why would the President restrict his own power?
“Some of my colleagues have been saying that the trade promotion authority, that the president is so desperately seeking, he’s been hammering and bludgeoning his members, in the Senate and the House, to get them to not vote their conscience but vote with what he wants, they say, ‘we should pass it because it restricts the power of the president. Give me a break. If this were true why would the president want it?”
6. Congress surrendering its power
“The entire purpose of fast-track is for Congress to surrender its power to the executive branch for six years.”
7. The president has control, now
“Legislative concessions include: control over the content of the legislation, the president negotiates it, he brings it back, we can’t amend it. He controls the content of it.”
8. On General Agreement on Trade in Services and the World Trade Organization
“In other words, they made an agreement on immigration visas as part of GATS and the WTO, and it violates and complicates our ability to enforce American immigration law.”
9. Obama breaking arms and heads to advance an agenda
“I’m becoming to believe that the primary part of his understanding of the importance of this legislation and why he’s breaking arms and heads over it, is the union, this international commission that has powers that he believes will allow him to advance agendas.”
10. TPA will lead to economic decline
“For too long the United States has entered in the trade deals, on the promise of economic bounty only to see workers impoverished, industries disappear, manufacturing jobs declined.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdQCdxcHwLQ
(Video above: Senator Jeff Sessions addresses the Senate Judiciary Committee)
WASHINGTON — Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) made a statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting Tuesday saying individuals and companies engaged in the immigration policy debate should stop treating humans like commodities.
“People aren’t commodities. We compare labor to commodities, but they’re not commodities. They’re human beings. They have families. They have hopes and dreams. They want stability in their life.”
Sessions, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on immigration, refugees, and border security went on to criticize California utilities giant Southern California Edison for laying off hundreds of American workers in favor of immigrant workers in the country with H-1B visas to save money.
“Congress represents the people of the United States. And yes, bringing in talent is a good thing, but we have no obligation to yield to the lusts of big businesses,” he said. “They all want more profits and lower pay for workers, that’s just what they do.”
The Senator also took Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to task for his support of increasing these visas instead of working to provide more jobs to those already in the country. ”
“Mr. Zuckerberg is worth $27 billion, I guess he is 27 years old, I’m not sure,” Sessions joked. “So he wants more foreign workers. I would like to think he might want to pay his employees more and maybe not have quite so many billions, if he’d like to be helpful, and maybe he could get more local workers.”
Check out Sen. Sessions’ entire statement in the video above.
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— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015
WASHINGTON — Senators Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Ben Sasse (R-NE) penned a letter to Social Security Administration Commissioner Carolyn Colvin requesting details on exactly how many illegal immigrants have received Social Security numbers (SSNs) resulting from the President’s executive actions on immigration over the last three years.
“It is our understanding that through January 8, 2013, the Social Security Administration had granted approximately 90,000 Social Security Numbers (SSNs) to noncitizens who were granted deferred action pursuant to the President’s ‘Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals’ (DACA) program,” the letter reads.
Approximately 600,000 younger illegal immigrants applied for DACA protections, which allowed those individuals a protected legal status.
Senators Sessions and Sasse asked how many individuals applied for, and received SSNs as a result of both DACA and the Obama administration’s more recent “executive amnesty” actions which effectively would grant legal status to the parents of DACA immigrants, as well as anyone who has been in the United States since at least 2010.
Both programs are currently stalled, as a federal judge in Texas found the President’s actions were unconstitutional. The White House has vowed to fight for the program all the way to the Supreme Court.
The letter concludes by asking Commissioner Colvin for information on how many illegal immigrants have “applied for and received benefits under either the Social Security Disability Insurance program or the Supplemental Security Income program.”
Senator Sasse is sponsoring a bill which would prohibit Social Security Numbers for amnestied illegal immigrants. The bill, cosponsored by Senator Sessions, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest, would “prevent billions of dollars in being transferred annually from U.S. workers to illegal workers in the form of low-income tax credit support payments.”
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— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015
WASHINGTON — Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest, issued a statement Tuesday condemning the GOP Senate leadership’s retreat in the effort to defund President Obama’s executive actions on illegal immigration.
“Essential to any sovereign nation is the enforcement of its borders, the application of uniform rules for entry and exit, and the delivery of consequences for individuals who violate our laws,” Sen. Sessions said in his statement. “President Obama has nullified those laws, rules, and borders, and replaced those consequences with rewards.”
The House joined the Senate Tuesday afternoon in approving funding for the Department of Homeland Security through the remainder of the fiscal year—including funding for President Obama’s executive immigration program. 75 GOP members of the House joined with every Democrat member to approve the measure.
Senator Sessions, along with several other Republicans who stood firm against the President’s actions, insist the move sets a precedent of executive power trumping Constitutional responsibilities specifically given to Congress. Some members of Congress are confident the court system will ultimately find the President’s actions unconstitutional, but the White House has signaled it will make a case for their legality, all the way to the Supreme Court.
Republican congressional leadership, however, has signaled their desire to move on to other issues.
“[We cannot] allow the President to dismantle the constitutional powers of Congress,” Sen. Sessions said, “ceding our status as a coequal branch, on the hope the Judiciary intervenes to restore some fraction of that lost authority. When it comes to defending our sovereignty there is no ‘moving on.’ Now is not the time for recrimination; now is the time for renewed determination.”
Senator Sessions has long been among the most vocal opponents of the President’s immigration plan. Last week conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh hailed the Senator for being one of the only Republicans not “scared to death” to speak out, even in the face of media scrutiny.
“The will of the American people cannot be forever denied,” said Sessions. “Republicans will have to come to realize that it falls on their shoulders to give voice to the just demands of the American people for a lawful system of immigration that serves their interests, defends their jobs, protects their security.”
“What motivates and excites a small group of open-borders billionaires has no connection to the hearts and lives of the working people of this country,” Sen. Sessions concluded. “They have been silenced for too long. Those who think this fight is over could not be more mistaken; it is only beginning. When the power of the American people is finally leveraged, people will be astonished by the results.”
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— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015
WASHINGTON — As Congress inches closer to a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) is concerned Senate Democrats are more willing to protect the President’s controversial executive actions on immigration than the United States’ national security interests.
“Once again, Senate Democrats have filibustered legislation to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security,” Sen. Sessions said Tuesday. “They have done so for the sole purpose of protecting an unconstitutional action that many of these same lawmakers previously said they oppose. They continue to form a defensive wall around the President’s order instead of acting to defend the interests of their own constituents.”
A bill funding DHS passed the House but has for weeks been held up in the Senate, where Democrats are filibustering even the possibility of a vote unless Republicans concede to also fund what Sessions often refers to as Obama’s “executive amnesty.” DHS’s current funding runs out February 27th.
A shutdown would force “non-essential personnel” to stay home, while “essential personnel,” including border agents, TSA agents, and the Secret Service, would work without pay until the funding impasse is broken.
Sessions expressed concerns that a DHS shutdown would exacerbate the national security threat already posed by the president’s immigration policies.
“As our immigration officers have warned, President Obama’s executive amnesty gravely threatens national security—suspending the very immigration laws designed to shield the nation from harm,” he said. “President Obama shut down immigration enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security the day he ordered our nation’s loyal immigration officers to defy the very laws they swore to uphold. Only a Democrat filibuster now prevents these immigration officers from carrying out their sacred oaths.”
But while the immigration stalemate has received the bulk of the press attention, Sessions said the debate is bigger than that, going as far as to call the president’s unilateral executive actions “an affront to constitutional order.”
“(The House) has funded the Department of Homeland Security but refused to fund an illegal act,” Sessions quipped. “No Congress should ever fund a Presidential edict which is unlawful, unconstitutional and which demolishes its own powers.”
Senate GOP leadership is now reportedly working on a compromise that would allow the Senate to vote on a bill funding DHS, including the president’s executive actions on immigration, then take up separate measures to stop executive amnesty at some point thereafter.
Senate Democrats, meanwhile, have held fast in supporting the President’s immigration policies, though several have periodically expressed concerns about what they consider to be executive overreach.
Sen. Sessions is confident he is on the right side of the issue, and that Americans agree with him.
“Sooner or later, Americans will be heard,” he said. “The just demands of a great majority cannot forever be denied by a small few. Those filibustering the funding of immigration enforcement would do well to remember that.”
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— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015
I guest hosted on WAPI this past week and had the opportunity to speak with Senator Jeff Sessions who I think is one of the few rock solid guys in Washington, D.C., working to defend the Constitution and advance conservative reforms.
In our 10 minute talk, which you can hear below, Senator Sessions discusses Senate Democrats finally agreeing to propose a budget for the first time in almost four years, and talks through some of the challenges of immigration reform (5:15).
Below the video you can read some of Senator Sessions’ best quotes from the interview.
Senator Sessions on the Senate Democrats finally producing a budget:
“The law requires a budget to be produced every year by the congress. It even sets the date… We need a budget.”
“It requires the majority in the U.S. Senate, allies of the President, to lay out a budget that they’re prepared to defend… and we can examine it like they examined the House budget.”
“Harry Reid…said it’s foolish to have a budget. He was not saying it was foolish for America… he was saying it’s foolish politically. They were getting away with attacking a responsible budget submitted by the House that had some reductions in spending in it, while never producing a plan themselves.”
“We were able to force a vote on the President’s budget. It got zero votes in the House or the Senate. Not a single Democrat voted for it… They voted against every plan and therefore were never on record as favoring any solution. And it worked for them politically.”
“I don’t see how the Democrat majority in the Senate can claim to be worthy of leading America if they don’t have the responsibility to even lay out their financial plan for the country when we’re on the most systemically unsustainable debt course the nation has ever been on.”
Senator Sessions on immigration reform:
“We need to move to a system that is honest, where the law is enforced, that is orderly.”
“We’ll always have a generous immigration policy, but it should serve the national interest. We should try to identify the people who are likely to be successful when they come to America, not go on subsidies from the government immidiately upon arriving.”
“We need to make sure that people don’t enter the country illegally and then take jobs from Americans at a time of high unemployment.”
“I really like Marco Rubio. He’s really trying to do something good for the country… What I’m telling my friends is, if you can produce something good, you’ll have support from me. But you’ve got to know, I lack confidence [that President Obama will enforce immigration law].”
“In 1986, amnesty was given to about 3 million people — now we’re looking at 11 million — and they were told, ‘we will enforce the law in the future, don’t worry about’… The law was never enforced and now they’re saying ‘let’s do it again.’ The American people are saying ‘let’s get this system under control first.'”
What else is going on?
1. INSIDE BASEBALL: Bentley Opposes Legislature Restructuring Bills, Senators Still Feeling it Out
2. Alabama Exports Hit New Record at $19.5 Billion
3. What to Watch for This Week
4. Alabama Policy Institute says Republican legislators are standing up for religious liberty
5. House Republicans had the best week in Montgomery…AEA, not so much.
A bipartisan group of 8 senators today announced a framework for comprehensive immigration reform.
According FoxNews.com’s coverage of the plan, the senators are seeking to accomplish four main goals:
1. Creating a path to citizenship for the estimated illegal immigrants already in the U.S., contingent upon securing the border and better tracking of people here on visas.
2. Reforming the legal immigration system, including awarding green cards to immigrants who obtain advanced degrees in science, math, technology or engineering from an American university.
3. Creating an effective employment verification system to ensure that employers do not hire illegal immigrants.
4. Allowing more low-skill workers into the country and allowing employers to hire immigrants if they can demonstrate they couldn’t recruit a U.S. citizen; and establishing an agricultural worker program.
The 8 senators releasing the plan were Democrats Chuck Schumer of New York, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Michael Bennet of Colorado; and Republicans John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marco Rubio of Florida and Jeff Flake of Arizona.
Immigration has long been a hot button issue in Washington (and in Alabama, of course) and this plan promises to be met with strict scrutiny, especially when conservatives remain fractured on how to best address the issue of 11 million illegal immigrants already living in the United States.
“No one should be surprised that individuals who have supported amnesty in the past still support amnesty,” Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said. “By granting amnesty, the Senate proposal actually compounds the problem by encouraging more illegal immigration.”
And Smith is far from the only elected official voicing concerns with the plan. Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions took to the floor of the Senate Monday to share his thoughts as well. “We would be in a much better position to achieve immigration reform if the Obama Administration had spent that last four years enforcing federal law rather than dismantling it,” Sessions said.
A video of Senator Sessions’ floor speech and the text of his statement can be found below. What’s your take? Do you support the plan outlined above? If Republicans support amnesty, will it help them with hispanic voters? What should conservatives propose to solve our immigration issues?
Statement from Senator Sessions:
“Americans overwhelmingly oppose illegal immigration. They have pleaded with Congress to end the mass illegality for decades to little avail. All the while, millions have been added to the total of those illegally here.
It’s time to fix that broken system. Now we are told that the Obama Administration and members of Congress say they have a plan that they promise will do the job. So, the American people will need to watch closely. And, members of Congress must insist that they have a full and complete opportunity to study and amend such legislation.
We would be in a much better position to achieve immigration reform if the Obama Administration had spent that last four years enforcing federal law rather than dismantling it. Brave immigration agents have been left with no recourse but to sue their own Department head, simply so that they—like any other law officers—will be allowed to do their jobs. Just last Friday a federal judge made an important preliminary ruling in their favor. The ICE union also held their own agency head, John Morton, in no confidence with a unanimous vote. The first task for every media agency in the country ought to be to study this lawsuit, to listen to the long-documented complaints of ICE agents, and to review the record of stymied attempts at congressional oversight of DHS.
No comprehensive plan can pass Congress as long as this administration continues to defy existing federal law. What good are promises of future enforcement when the Administration covertly undermines those laws now in place?
Yet, without consulting the law officers who have the duty to enforce the law, another group of senators, meeting in secret—just like the last time comprehensive reform failed—have set forth an outline with no legislative language. We have seen too often before that the promises made by bill sponsors do not match up to the reality when the language is produced. No secret accord with profound consequences for this nation’s future can be rushed through. That means a full committee process and debate and amendments on the floor of the Senate.
Several points need to be understood. Amnesty will not help balance our budget. In fact, a large-scale amnesty is likely to add trillions of dollars to the debt over time, accelerate Medicare’s and Social Security’s slide into insolvency, and put enormous strain on our public assistance programs. We know already that the administration refuses to enforce existing law restricting immigrant welfare use, and in fact promotes expanded welfare use to immigrants—including food stamps, public housing, and Medicaid. I joined with four Ranking Members to obtain answers from the Department of Homeland Security about this evisceration of law, and the Administration has suspiciously defied three consecutive oversight requests.
These and other critical issues must be carefully considered as we go forward. Certainly, our current system is broken. Work must be done to fix it. That effort must occur.
All Americans, immigrant and native born, will have a better future if American continues to stand unique among nations for the special reverence it places in the rule of law.”
Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions claimed a big victory in the Senate this week as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Budget Chairman Patty Murray finally agreed to comply with federal law and offer a budget for the first time in almost four years. Murray declared Senate Democrats are “ready to get to work.” …Everyone else declared, “it’s about time.”
This is a significant win for Sessions because he has been out front beating the drum on this issue for quite a while now. He has worked tirelessly to expose Senator Reid’s strategy of never producing a budget in order to shield his members from public scrutiny. “Sen. Jeff Sessions…has conducted a virtual crusade on the issue, loudly and consistently and unsuccessfully demanding that Reid obey the law and pass a budget,” Washington Examiner Chief Political Correspondent Byron York wrote in early January. York later described the turn of events as “a big win for Jeff Sessions.”
“I have repeatedly and emphatically called for an end to the Senate Democrats’ brazen legal defiance in this time of national fiscal emergency,” Senator Sessions said in a statement. “To compel Senate action I have introduced legislation, blocked recess, and encouraged the use of the debt ceiling as leverage. Now, with their pay threatened, and long-simmering public anger growing, Senate Democrats have suddenly seen the light. Even just a few days ago, they were not willing to commit to doing a budget.”
Sessions says he believes the way forward is for the House and the Senate to both lay out long-term financial plans and present them to the American people. In the past, Democrats refused to do so for political reasons, believing it better to attack the House while having no plan to present, explain, or defend.
The legal deadline for the Budget Committee to complete its work on a budget resolution is April 1. There’s a lot of work to be done between now and then. But for now, Senator Sessions deserves a lot of credit for leading the fight in the Senate on behalf of conservatives not just in Alabama, but across the country.
I shared on the Yellowhammer Facebook page yesterday my take on the Senate Democrats’ unwillingness to do their job…LIKE us on Facebook and FOLLOW us on Twitter to get more content like the image below. Also, don’t forget to sign up for the Yellowhammer weekly email blast.
The latest Congress-created crisis, the so called “fiscal cliff,” has weak-kneed Republicans caving in droves to calls for tax increases.
In spite of having a year to figure out how to avoid a combination of massive tax hikes and deep defense cuts, Congressional leaders and the President have once again waited until only a few weeks before the deadline to start negotiating.
At the center of the conversation surrounding the closed-door negotiations has been the famed “no-tax pledge” that many Congressman and Senators have signed. It reads as follows:
“I pledge to the taxpayers of my district and to the American people that I will: ONE, oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rate for individuals and business; and TWO, oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.”
The pledge is the brain-child of Americans For Tax Reform founder Grover Norquist. Norquist has been the target of liberal ire for decades. But he now finds himself taking shots from Republicans who claim the pledge, which they willingly signed as a commitment to their constituents, should be tossed aside.
The Wall St. Journal said it best yesterday:
“Thus we have the sight of powerful Senators like Saxby Chambliss and Lindsey Graham and New York Congressman Peter King patting themselves on the back for having the courage to stand up to a guy who has never held public office. On Monday no less than billionaire Warren Buffett, who can get the President on the phone at will, attacked Mr. Norquist. Who knew one unelected fellow had so much power?
“The truth is that Mr. Norquist doesn’t have such power. The voters do. Mr. Norquist merely had the wit to channel the electorate’s limited government beliefs into a single-issue enforcement mechanism. Politicians sign the pledge not because they want to box themselves in — politicians by their nature want, er, flexibility — but because they want to get elected. And re-elected.”
Fortunately for Alabama, Senator Jeff Sessions is not one of the aforementioned weak-kneed Republicans. “I signed [the no-tax pledge] and I absolutely believe we don’t have to raise taxes now,” Sessions said yesterday on Fox News.
Check out the interview below along with several other solid quotes from Senator Sessions.
Sessions highlights from the interview:
– “We need to create growth which creates jobs, not damage growth by huge tax increases.”
– “If our taxes are just for new spending, I think the American people need to say ‘no, you need to get your house under control before we send you another dime.'”
– “Has there been any talk about reducing spending? Any real serious discussion about that? And what will this new revenue be used for?”
– “What I’m concerned about is where this money would be going. They say it’s for deficit reduction, but the president’s budget that he submitted to us in January would increase spending another $1.4 trillion…he’s proposing now $1.6 trillion in new taxes.”
– “This idea of holding these things off til the last crisis minute is wrong, and the American people need to speak out on that.”
Sorry that you have to endure Soledad O’Brien, but it’s worth it to watch conservative warrior Sen. Sessions say things like, “The America people should not be asked to send another dime to this dysfuntional government…”
Here are a couple of my favorite Sessions quotes from the video above:
“We could have been in session today. We should have done something all this week…We could have been talking abou the challenge of our time. It’s time for someone to say, the leadership in this Senate is not performing its duty. This country is in danger and all they want to talk about is small bills and secret meetings.”
“The America people should not be asked to send another dime to this dysfuntional government until we show, and the president shows, a committment to reforming the abuses and waste that’s going on. We haven’t had any real reform of government programs in decades… I believe we don’t have to have more tax revenue. I believe we can control our debt and get us on a sound path through fiscal responsibility.”
Needless to say, we could use a few more like Jeff Sessions in the U.S. Senate.