White House wants Jeff Sessions, but Democrats vow a fight

WASHINGTON — The White House badly wants Jeff Sessions to take the helm of the Justice Department, but Democrats are mounting a war to stop him.

It’s likely Sessions will be confirmed by the Senate late next week. But every day of delay is another day President Donald Trump is without a prominent defender of his incendiary moves.

As long as Democrats delay, Sessions, now a Republican senator from Alabama, can’t be all over social media and television explaining Trump’s order to temporarily bar immigrants and some others from seven predominantly Muslim nations from entering the U.S. Or why it’s worthwhile to launch an investigation of voter fraud, even though the Justice Department in previous administrations found repeatedly no such abuse exists on a large scale.

The Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday took the first step towards confirmation, approving Sessions by an 11-9 vote.

A few hours later, Democrats previewed the sort of Senate turmoil that awaits him. They tied up the Senate with lengthy procedural votes that delayed the confirmation of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York vows similar efforts for most until Republicans agree to overturn, or ease, Trump’s immigration action.

Sessions was an early, vocal Trump supporter during the campaign, and his ardor bothered Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Judiciary Committee Democrat.

“It is very difficult to reconcile for me the independence and objectivity necessary for the position of attorney general with the partisanship this nominee has demonstrated,” she said.