Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
Mr Sessions faced two days of intense grilling during his confirmation hearings
The US Senate Judiciary Committee is to vote on President Donald Trump’s choice for attorney general, Jeff Sessions.
A conservative senator and early backer of Mr Trump, Mr Sessions has been dogged by allegations of racism which overshadowed his confirmation hearings.
The vote comes a day after the president dismissed Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, who questioned the legality of his immigration directive.
It imposes a temporary travel ban on seven, mainly-Muslim countries.
If Mr Sessions’ nomination is approved by the judiciary committee, the full Senate – where Republicans hold a 52-48 majority – is expected to vote on it by the end of the week.
Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, an Obama appointee, was sacked on Monday
The 69-year-old Alabama senator faced two days of tough questioning during his confirmation hearings this month.
Mr Sessions – who once joked that he approved of the Ku Klux Klan until he heard they smoked marijuana – described allegations of support for the KKK as “damnably false”.
“I abhor the Klan and what it represents and its hateful ideology,” he said.
He also denied allegations that he once called a black assistant US attorney “boy”.
One of the most conservative members of the Senate, Mr Sessions was denied a federal judgeship in 1986 after the judiciary committee heard testimony about his remarks on race.
Also on Tuesday:
- Mr Trump’s choice to fill the long-vacant seat on the Supreme Court is due to be announced
- The full Senate will vote on whether to confirm Elaine Chao as transportation secretary
- Senate committees will vote on several other cabinet nominees, including Betsy DeVos for education and Stephen Mnuchin for treasury;
The attorney general is America’s top prosecutor, leads the justice department and acts as the main adviser to the president on legal issues.
Sally Yates had been appointed by President Barack Obama. She was sacked by President Trump, who accused her of “betraying” the justice department and being “weak on borders”.
She had said in a letter that she was “not convinced” that the president’s order on immigration was lawful.
“As long as I am the acting attorney general, the department of justice will not present arguments in defence of the executive order,” she said.
Mr Trump replaced her with Dana Boente, a federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The immigration order, signed by the president on Friday, temporarily banned nationals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the US. It sparked protests in the US and abroad.
President Trump’s order drew widespread protests – including here at JFK airport in New York
Hundreds of diplomats and foreign servants have been drafting a “dissent cable” to formally criticise the move.
A draft version of the cable said that immigration restrictions would not make the US safer, were un-American and would send the wrong message to the Muslim world.
The White House has consistently defended Mr Trump’s executive order despite the controversy, with press secretary Sean Spicer saying diplomats should “get with the programme”.
BBC