Embattled attorney general is embroiled in Republican battles amid uneasy relationship with Trump
Attorney General Jeff Sessions/Shutterstock.com.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is bearing the brunt of Republican anger as he clashes with the legislative and executive branches of government.
President Donald Trump has long expressed his dismay for Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from the investigation of Russian influence in the 2016 election. Their relationship was described as one of “uneasy détente” in an article last month.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sessions is “embroiled in disputes with Republican lawmakers” on issues ranging from immigration to marijuana.
The Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Charles Grassley of Iowa, criticized Sessions on Thursday for writing a letter expressing misgivings about a bipartisan bill to reform drug sentencing laws, according to the Wall Street Journal and the Huffington Post.
Grassley said he was “really irritated” that Sessions would send the letter. “He is now attorney general and is charged with executing the laws that Congress passes, not interfering with the legislative process,” Grassley said. The committee approved the bill with Democratic support.
Also on Thursday, Sessions criticized a bipartisan immigration plan that failed to win approval later in the day. In remarks to county sheriffs, Sessions said the proposal amounted to “open borders and mass amnesty,” which is not what the American public wants. Sessions’ position tracks that of the president.
Earlier this week, Sessions criticized Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., for holding up Justice Department nominees to protest Sessions’ rescission of a policy against enforcement of marijuana laws in states that have legalized the drug.
Sessions has also criticized House Republicans for releasing a memo alleging failure to disclose that a Democratic-financed dossier was the source of information in a surveillance application.
According to the Journal, the fights with lawmakers “could cost Mr. Sessions allies in the Senate at a time when he has few friends in the administration.”
