Senator Durbin Floor Statement on Sessions Attorney General Nomination

Illinois Senator Richard Durbin offers his views on the floor after the Senate voted to limit debate on the nomination of colleague Senator Jeff Sessions to be Attorney General of the United States, describing his giving Sessions a copy of the book White Rage, a history of race in America after the Civil War, adding that Sessions has been in denial over this reality. Durbin remarks on voter suppression laws as having racially discriminatory intent, that he had hoped that problems with race could have been of the past but is a problem the Attorney must face squarely, concluding that in light of repeated baseless claims by President Trump about voter fraud in the 2016 presidential election it is imperative that the department of justice is led by someone who values the vital role that department plays in protecting the right to vote, not confident that Sessions would do that.