Sherrod Brown won’t back Sessions

Sen. Sherrod  Brown (D-Ohio) said Friday that he will not support Sen. Jeff Sessions’s (R-Ala.) nomination to be attorney general.

“I have serious concerns that Senator Sessions’ record on civil rights is at direct odds with the task of promoting justice and equality for all, and I cannot support his nomination,” he said in a statement.

He added that the attorney general must “enforce laws that protect the rights of every American.”

{mosads}Brown, who is not a member of the Judiciary Committee, appears to be the first Democrat to formally say they will oppose Sessions. Other top Democrats have vowed to oppose Sessions, however, with some even calling on President-elect Donald Trump to drop the nomination.

Brown and Sessions met on Friday and discussed improving the relationship between police and communities, restoring the Voting Rights Act and Sessions’s record on civil rights.

The Judiciary Committee will begin hearings on Sessions’s nomination on Tuesday. 

The hearing comes roughly 30 years after Sessions’s 1986 nomination for a federal judgeship died in the committee amid allegations the Alabama senator had made racially charged comments.

Sessions is expected to ultimately clear the upper chamber, with Republicans only needing 50 votes to win his confirmation.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has said he will support the confirmation, and other centrist Democrats may also back Sessions.

Brown is up for reelection in 2018 and has also been seen as a potential Democratic vice presidential or presidential candidate.