 |
Jeff SessionsAmerican Republican politician
Date of Birth: 24.12.1946
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Legal and Military Service
- Assistant United States Attorney and Attorney General of Alabama
- U.S. Senate
- Other Positions
- Marijuana Policy
- Other Views
- Personal Life
- Nomination as Attorney General
Early Life and Education
Jefferson Beauregard "Jeff" Sessions III was born on December 24, 1946, in Selma, Alabama. His father owned a department store in Hybart and later sold farm equipment. Both of his parents were of English descent with Scotch-Irish ancestry.
After graduating from Wilcox County High School in Camden, Sessions went on to earn a B.A. degree from Huntingdon College in Montgomery in 1969. He was active in Young Republicans and served as student body president.
Jeff attended the University of Alabama School of Law, graduating with a J.D. degree in 1973.
Legal and Military Service
Sessions practiced law privately in Russellville and Mobile, where he continues to reside. He also served in the Army Reserve in the 1970s, attaining the rank of captain.
Assistant United States Attorney and Attorney General of Alabama
From 1981 to 1993, Jeff served as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama. In 1994, he was elected Attorney General of Alabama.
U.S. Senate
Sessions was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996 and has been re-elected in 2002, 2008, and 2014. He is known as one of the most conservative members of the Senate.
As a senator, Jeff has opposed illegal immigration and advocated for reducing legal immigration. He supported major legislation proposed by the George W. Bush administration, including the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 and a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
Other Positions
Sessions opposed the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell law.
As the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Jeff opposed all three of President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominations.
Sessions has supported reducing (but not eliminating) the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine. A federal Fair Sentencing Act, eliminating a five-year mandatory minimum for "simple possession" of cocaine, was signed into law by Obama on August 3, 2010.
Jeff was one of nine senators to vote against the Senate amendment to a spending bill prohibiting cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of persons in U.S. government custody or control on October 5, 2005.
Marijuana Policy
Sessions is a vocal opponent of marijuana legalization for both recreational or medical use. "I'm a big fan of the DEA," Jeff declared during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. He expressed "grief" and found it "incomprehensible" when President Obama stated that marijuana was not as dangerous as alcohol.
Other Views
Sessions opposed the 2007 Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. He is skeptical of the consensus view on climate change and has voted in favor of legislation that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions. Jeff has voted to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling and supports nuclear energy.
Personal Life
Jeff and his wife, Mary, have three children and six grandchildren. The family are members of the United Methodist Church. Sessions teaches Sunday school at a Methodist church in Mobile. He has served as the chairman of his church's administrative board and as a delegate to the Alabama-West Florida United Methodist Annual Conference.
Nomination as Attorney General
On November 18, 2016, President-elect Donald Trump nominated Jeff Sessions to be the next Attorney General of the United States.
