First Time In History, Senator Testifies Against Nominated Colleague

By Frances Langum — January 10, 2017

Cory Booker is about to make history. NBC News:

Booker's office said Monday that the Senate historian had been unable to find any previous instance of a sitting senator testifying against a fellow sitting senator nominated for a Cabinet position.

Noting that "I'm breaking a pretty long Senate tradition," the New Jersey Democrat said Monday on MSNBC's "All In": "We've seen Jeff Sessions — that's Senator Jeff Sessions — consistently voting against or speaking out against key ideals of the Voting Rights Act, taking measures to try to block criminal justice reform."

"He has a posture and a positioning that I think represent a real danger to our country," Booker said.

Congressmen John Lewis of Georgia and Cedric Richmond of Louisiana= (Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus) are also planning to testify against Sessions.

The @NAACP_LDF's new report on Jeff Sessions — and his stance on criminal justice and civil rights — is a must-read. https://t.co/OtPVq2jczI pic.twitter.com/FoIAc1kiTn

— The Marshall Project (@MarshallProj) January 9, 2017

If Jeff Sessions is a #civilrights advocate, he has kept it well-hidden from civil rights lawyers and activists #StopSessions pic.twitter.com/ABdp6a98Xn

— Legal Defense Fund (@NAACP_LDF) January 5, 2017

Sessions: "I never said @NAACP was un-American." Here's what black prosecutor testified about him in 1986 pic.twitter.com/bt01116ZOJ

— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) January 10, 2017

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