Leahy to vote against Sessions for attorney general

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced on Monday that he’ll vote against Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) to be President Trump’s attorney general, a day ahead of a key vote on the nomination.

“The Attorney General must faithfully serve all Americans. After carefully reviewing Senator Sessions’ extensive record, I am not convinced that he meets that threshold standard. So I must oppose this nomination,” Leahy said in a statement.

Senator Patrick Leahy Announces That He Will OPPOSE #Sessions Nomination For Attorney General — https://t.co/kO4KuXV6q4

— Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) January 30, 2017

He added that he had “serious doubts” that the Alabama Republican would be able to say no to Trump and “be an independent attorney general.”

{mosads}Leahy previously voted against Sessions’s 1986 nomination to be a federal judge, before going on to serve with Sessions in the Senate for roughly 20 years.

Leahy’s statement comes after he told a local Vermont publication on Sunday that “there’s no way I can support him.”

“He’s supposed to be the chief law enforcement officer, but he talks like he’s going to be Trump’s personal attorney,” Leahy added in the interview. “He’s supposed to be the attorney for all of us.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee, which Leahy is a member of, is expected to vote on Sessions on Tuesday morning after Democrats delayed his nomination for a week.

Leahy sent additional questions to Sessions last week, including about his role in drafting Trump’s executive order that temporarily bans entry to the U.S. for refugees and visa-holders from seven Muslim-majority countries. Democrats, as well as a growing number of Republicans, voiced concerns over the weekend about the administration’s order.

Leahy on Monday said Sessions hadn’t responded to his letter.

Democrats aren’t expected to be able to block Sessions’s nomination. Republicans hold a majority on the Judiciary Committee, and a 52-seat majority in the Senate.

No Republican is expected to vote against Sessions, and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) has also said he will support him.