Jeff Sessions
Jeff Sessions | |
|---|---|
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| Junior Senator, Alabama | |
| In office January, 1997–Present | |
| Preceded by | Howell T. Heflin |
| Succeeded by | Incumbent (2009) |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | american |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Mary Blackshear Sessions |
Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is the junior United States Senator from Alabama. He is a member of the Republican Party and has lived in Alabama for most of his life.
Early life
Sessions was born in Hybart, Alabama as the son of a country store owner. In 1964 he became an Eagle Scout. After attending school in nearby Camden, Sessions studied at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1969. He received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Alabama in 1973.
Sessions became a practicing attorney first in Russellville, Alabama, and then in Mobile, Alabama where he now lives. He was also an army reservist in the 1970s, achieving the rank of captain.
Political career
Following a two-year stint as Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama (1975-1977), Sessions was nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and confirmed by the Senate to serve as the United States Attorney for Alabama's Southern District, a position he held for 12 years. Sessions was elected Alabama Attorney General in 1995, serving until 1997.
In 1996 he was elected to the Senate, succeeding Democrat Howell Heflin. He was only the second freshman Republican Senator from Alabama since Reconstruction. He was easily reelected in 2002 becoming the first (or second, if one counts his colleague Dick Shelby, who switched from Democrat to Republican in 1994) Republican reelected to the Senate from Alabama.
Sessions is one of the most conservative members of either house of Congress, backing Republican stances on foreign affairs, taxes, and social policy. He opposes abortion, and is cautious towards immigration and foreign trade. Sessions has also sought to limit taxes and domestic spending. When 14 Senators from each party reached an agreement to avert the nuclear option, Sessions was one of the agreement's most severe critics.
Sessions has been active in particular as an advocate for the armed services. On September 25, 2005, he spoke at a rally attended by 400 people in Washington, D.C. in favor of the war in Iraq. It was held in opposition to an anti-war protest held the day before that attracted 300,000 people. Sessions spoke of the anti-war protestors, saying "I frankly don't know what they represent, other than to blame America first."
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