{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsreleases?ContentRecord_id=72A426F4-5367-4F6A-B13E-16C6DC60DF3C", "Top Dem signals likely opposition to Sessions nomination", "2016-12-06", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "WA", "Patty Murray", "M001111", "www.murray.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Sen.\u00a0Patty Murray\u00a0(D-Wash.) is signaling she'll likely oppose Sen.\u00a0Jeff Sessions's attorney general nomination next year.\u00a0\r\nThe Washington senator \u2014 who will be the No. 3 Senate Democrat in 2017 \u2014 said the Senate rejected Sessions three decades ago because of civil rights and racism allegations and \"those same concerns linger.\"\r\n\r\n\"I\u2019ve seen him vote against the Violence Against Women Act, the Voting Rights Act, and hate crimes legislation,\" Murray\u00a0said\u00a0in a Facebook post. \"And for these reasons and more, I have major concerns with his nomination to this position and am not sure what I could hear in this confirmation process that would allow me to support it.\"\u00a0\r\nSessions has denied the accusations that he called an African-American assistant U.S. attorney \u201cboy\u201d or that he called the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union \u201cun-American.\u201d He also supported the Voting Rights Act in 2006 and\u00a0Eric Holder's nomination to be the first African-American attorney general. \u00a0\r\nEchoing larger concerns from Democrats, Murray added on Monday that the attorney general must be able be willing to defend the rights of all Americans equally.\u00a0\r\n\"We need to do everything we can to fight for an Attorney General who is truly committed to standing up for and protecting the rights of everyone in this country,\" she said. \"Given Senator Sessions\u2019s record, it is difficult to see how he could pass this most basic, most essential, test.\r\nMurray also pointed to Sessions's immigration stances as a cause for concern, questioning if he would use his post to \"pursue his anti-immigration agenda.\"\u00a0\r\nSessions is well-liked among his Senate colleagues. Republicans\u00a0signaled\u00a0last week that\u00a0they wanted to quickly move his nomination\u00a0through the upper chamber next year. \u00a0\r\nDemocrats are pledging to give Sessions a thorough grilling, though they face an uphill battle to stop his nomination.\u00a0\r\nSessions will only need support\u00a0from a simple majority of senators to clear the\u00a0upper chamber.\u00a0Republicans are expected to have 52 seats next year, and Sen.\u00a0Joe Manchin\u00a0(D-W.Va.) has said he will support Sessions.\u00a0\r\nFive former attorneys general\u00a0and\u00a0five former deputy attorneys general, all of whom worked for Republican administrations, backed Sessions\u2019s nomination in a letter Monday to Sens. Chuck\u00a0Grassley (R-Iowa) and\u00a0Dianne Feinstein\u00a0(D-Calif.), the two top members of the Judiciary Committee next year.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsreleases?ContentRecord_id=72A426F4-5367-4F6A-B13E-16C6DC60DF3C"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0550911538302898, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}