Politics

What You Need To Know: Day 2 Of The Sessions Confirmation Hearing

Lots of political news broke today. Here's what you might have missed.

By Kathryn Rubino on January 11, 2017 3:30 pm

This is going on:

So, yeah. The Jeff Sessions confirmation hearing isn’t the top story on the Hill today.

Even the protestors have to spread out their efforts.

To say nothing of [insert your favorite pee pun] Peepot Dome scandal, WatersportsGate, BenghazPee, and Donald Trump’s scheduled presser on his conflicts erm, business interests. I mean C-SPAN didn’t even have it on (it was available to stream online). So we have you covered to get your caught up on what was said about the (likely) next attorney general.

The big theme of the day was voting rights — I mean, what do you expect for a man who said that the gutting of the Voting Rights Act was  “good news… for the South”?

President of the NAACP, Cornell Brooks, testified powerfully about the future of voting rights in this country:

And Brooks wasn’t the only on the issue:

https://twitter.com/lizcgoodwin/status/819205807665479680

Coretta Scott King’s letter from 1986 speaking out against Senator Sessions was officially entered into the Congressional record — it was omitted from the record when initially read at Sessions’s judiciary hearing.

But the afternoon session is when Senator Cory Booker, civil rights legend Rep. John Lewis, and Black Caucus Chairman Rep. Cedric Richmond all spoke out against the appointment of Sessions. Their testimony was interspersed with that of African-Americans, including former AUSA Willie Huntley and former U.S. Marshal Jesse Seroyer, which all supported the nomination of Sessions.

But it was Senator Booker’s testimony that got all the early press. Since no one can find any record of a sitting senator testifying against the appointment of another sitting senator. But you know, 2020 isn’t going to win itself.

Known for his rhetorical flourishes, Booker delivered exactly what was expected of him, which was seen as either a courageous stand or political opportunism — depending on your political affiliation. But no one seemed to deny to passion and conviction with which he delivered his remarks:

And he spoke of Sessions’s poor record on civil rights issues:

https://twitter.com/pemalevy/status/819248466576756738

Rep. Lewis’s outstanding reputation got him a lot of credibility:

https://twitter.com/imillhiser/status/819251148037226496

Rep. Richmond had the harshest words for Senator Sessions. But before he could drop those bombs, he called out the committee for putting these panelists in the last session of the hearing:

https://twitter.com/JulianneRoss/status/819253913157324804

Don’t worry there was plenty left in his ammunition belt for Sessions:

And those that will vote for him:

https://twitter.com/evanmcmurry/status/819256904279007232

The testimony ended, and then #Election2020 officially began:

headshotKathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).