Sen. Hirono Expesses Concerns to Sen. Sessions

Sen. Mazie Hirono. U.S. Senate photo.

Yesterday, Sen. Mazie K. Hirono pressed Attorney General Nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions for answers about his views on immigration, civil rights and abortion rights during his confirmation hearing.

From Sen. Hirono’s remarks:

“You probably know, Sen. Sessions, that I am an immigrant. And you indicated in one response that you would want immigration reform to center around skills-based immigration reform. And if that were the case, my mother who brought me to the country to escape an abusive marriage would not have been able to come to this country.”

“I’ve heard from immigrants, LGBT Americans, women and religious minorities who are terrified that they have no place in President-elect Trump’s vision of America. And based on what I’ve heard since the election, I am deeply concerned their fears are well-founded. I’m hoping you can address some of these concerns.”

Sen. Hirono pressed Sen. Sessions on his long anti-choice record, and tried to secure a commitment from Sen. Sessions to uphold Roe v. Wade. After Sen. Sessions dodged the question, Sen. Hirono said:

“I think most of us know that the next opportunity for the Supreme Court to weigh in on whether or not to change Roe v. Wade would be a close decision and likely possibly a 5-4 decision and it is not just a hypothetical, but a real concern to a lot of people.”

Sen. Hirono also questioned Sen. Sessions’ record on voter protection:

“We know that since the Supreme Court’s decision that did away with major parts of the Voting Rights Act, that numerous states—13 states—have enacted laws that are contrary to the Voting Rights Act. So I hope that as attorney general, you would vigorously review those kinds of laws and to prosecute and to seek to overturn those state laws just as your predecessors have done.”