A year after she was silenced on the Senate floor for breaking the rules in criticizing Jeff Sessions, Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Wednesday her opinion of her former colleague and now attorney general has been born out.
Ms. Warren was forced to cease her speech opposing Mr. Sessions after she quoted from derogatory material on the then-Alabama senator, including opinions of Coretta Scott King and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.
Ms. Warren, who voted against confirming Mr. Sessions, said Wednesday those criticisms hadn’t been dispelled.
“It’s been one year since the Republican-controlled Senate made Jeff Sessions attorney general of the United States, and I wish that I could say I was wrong. I actually really do,” the Massachusetts Democrat said in a floor speech.
Last year, Ms. Warren was first warned after she quoted from Kennedy’s opinion regarding Mr. Sessions’ previous nomination to a federal court judge in 1986.
Senate Rule XIX prohibits one senator from attributing behavior “unbecoming of a senator” to another member.
Ms. Warren then attempted to read a letter from Mrs. King, wife of Martin Luther King, Jr., but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell objected.
“But for reading those words, the words of an icon of the civil rights movement, I was booted off the Senate floor. Every one of my Republican colleagues present that night voted to shut me up for reading Mrs. King’s words. And the next day every single Republican voted to confirm Jeff Sessions,” Ms. Warren said.
When Mr. McConnell, Kentucky Republican, explained his decision to object to Ms. Warren, he said, “She was warned. She was given an explanation, nevertheless, she persisted.” The phrase “nevertheless, she persisted” became a feminist slogan and fundraising campaign for Democratic groups.
Her objections to Mr. Sessions nomination concerned his record on civil rights issues and immigration, accusing him of being “vitriolic” toward “common sense” solutions on these issues. She said that although she wished she were wrong in her initial opinions of Mr. Sessions the past year has demonstrated that her concerns were valid.
“I wish I could say that I was wrong, I actually really do. But Coretta Scott King’s warnings read even louder today than they did in 1986,” she said.
“On issue after issue, Jeff Sessions’ Justice Department has failed in its mission to promote justice for all Americans. Instead, Mr. Sessions has taken the department in exactly the opposite direction,” she added.
Ms. Warren also marked the anniversary with a “Nevertheless, She Persisted” tele-town hall on Wednesday to show how she’s “persisting” for all Americans. Ms. Warren faces a re-election race in Massachusetts this fall, and is also considered to be a possible contender in the 2020 presidential race.
⦁ Seth McLaughlin contributed to this article.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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