Jeff Sessions | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| 84th United States Attorney General | |
| In office February 9, 2017 – November 7, 2018 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy |
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| Preceded by |
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| Succeeded by |
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| United States Senator from Alabama | |
| In office January 3, 1997 – February 8, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Howell Heflin |
| Succeeded by | Luther Strange |
| 44th Attorney General of Alabama | |
| In office January 16, 1995 – January 3, 1997 | |
| Governor | Fob James |
| Preceded by | Jimmy Evans |
| Succeeded by | William H. Pryor Jr. |
| United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama | |
| In office February 1981 – March 23, 1993 | |
| President | |
| Preceded by | William Kimbrough |
| Succeeded by | Don Foster |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III December 24, 1946 Selma, Alabama, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Mary Blackshear (m. 1969) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service | |
| Years of service | 1973–1977 |
| Rank |  Captain |
| Unit | 1184th United States Army Transportation Terminal Unit |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Conservatism in the United States |
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Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 84th United States attorney general from 2017 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as United States senator from Alabama from 1997 to 2017 before resigning that position to serve as attorney general in the administration of President Donald Trump. Trump fired Sessions in 2018 due to his inaction and recusal from the Russian collusion probes.
From 1981 to 1993, Sessions served as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Alabama. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan nominated Sessions to a judgeship on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama. After allegations of racism were made against him in testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, which Sessions denied, the committee voted against advancing his nomination to the Senate floor; the nomination was later withdrawn. Sessions was elected attorney general of Alabama in 1994. In 1996, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, and was re-elected in 2002, 2008 and 2014. During his Senate tenure, Sessions was considered one of the most conservative senators. His Senate voting record includes votes against comprehensive immigration reform (2006), the 2008 bank bailout, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Affordable Care Act (2009) and criminal justice reform (2015).
Sessions was an early supporter of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign; he was nominated by Trump for the post of U.S. Attorney General. He was confirmed and sworn in as attorney general in February 2017. In his confirmation hearings, Sessions stated under oath that he did not have contact with Russian officials during the 2016 presidential campaign and that he was unaware of any contact between Trump campaign members and Russian officials. However, in March 2017, news reports revealed that Sessions had twice met with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak in 2016. Sessions later recused himself from any investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. As attorney general, Sessions rescinded a memo issued by one of his predecessors, Eric Holder, that had sought to curb mass incarceration by avoiding mandatory sentencing for drug crimes; he ordered federal prosecutors to begin seeking the maximum criminal charges possible. A staunch opponent of illegal immigration, Sessions adopted a hard line on sanctuary cities and told reporters that cities failing to comply with federal immigration policy would lose federal funding. He also played a key role in the implementation of the Trump administration family separation policy. Trump issued an executive order revoking the cities' funding, but that order was overturned by a federal court. Sessions also supported Department of Justice prosecutions of medical marijuana providers.
On November 7, 2018, Sessions tendered his resignation at Trump's request following months of public and private conflict with President Trump over his recusal from investigations relating to Russian election interference. Sessions ran in the 2020 Senate election in Alabama to reclaim his old seat, but lost in the Republican primary to Tommy Tuberville, who was supported by President Trump.