AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
The confirmation hearing for Rex Tillerson was one of many during this busy week on Capitol Hill. The Senate Judiciary Committee also heard more testimony today on the nomination of Alabama Republican Senator Jeff Sessions for attorney general. Joining us to discuss how Trump's nominees are being received is NPR congressional correspondent Susan Davis. Hey, there, Sue.
SUSAN DAVIS, BYLINE: Hey, Audie.
CORNISH: So there was actually an exceptional moment today with this particular hearing because New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker essentially testified against his colleague Jeff Sessions, right? And it's the first time a sitting senator testified against another sitting senator for a cabinet position. What was Booker's case against sessions?
DAVIS: Booker's opposition was largely based on Sessions' past voting record. You know, these two senators have only served together for three years in the Senate. Booker's a first term senator, but he argued he couldn't really support Sessions 'cause he cited his pass votes against things like the Violence Against Women Act and Sessions' votes against voting rights laws. He also said that Sessions just has a much more conservative world view on things like immigration and how to overhaul the criminal justice system, which is a particular issue for Booker. Here's what Booker had to say.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CORY BOOKER: The next attorney general must bring hope and healing to this country. And this demands a more courageous empathy than Senator Sessions' record demonstrates. It demands an understanding that patriotism is love of country, and love of country demands that we love all of our citizens, even the most marginalized.
DAVIS: You know, Booker was not alone today in his testimony. He was joined by two other lawmakers, including Georgia Democratic Congressman John Lewis, a leader of the civil rights movement. He was also joined by Louisiana Democratic Cedric Richmond, who is the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. They also oppose Sessions' nominations based largely on the same argument that they just don't believe that he will work vigorously to protect civil rights.
CORNISH: But as you mentioned, Sessions has been in the Senate for some time, so he had his defenders on the panel, right?
DAVIS: Absolutely, and this particular panel was all African-American men. Three testified against him, and three testified on his behalf. And the ones that testified on his behalf were people that had actually worked with Sessions in some official legal capacity in his career. Two did legal work with him in Alabama, and a third, a man named William Smith, was a former lawyer on the Judiciary Committee. And their argument was essentially that those testifying against Sessions just don't know him and that those have worked with him feel very, very differently about the man. Here is how Smith put it.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
WILLIAM SMITH: After 20 years of knowing Senator Sessions, I have not seen the slightest evidence of racism because it does not exist. I know a racist when I see one, and I've seen more than one, but Jeff Sessions is not one.
DAVIS: Smith had the final word at the hearing today. It concluded the two-day hearing process for Sessions' nomination. We still don't know when the committee or the Senate is going to vote on his nomination. But the bottom line here, Audie, is there is no reason to believe that Jeff Sessions will not be the next attorney general.
CORNISH: There is so much conversation about how many hearings were happening in a day. And now I know Democrats have managed to delay at least four of the hearings - right? - but what's the strategy here? I mean, how long will the confirmation process take?
DAVIS: You know, Democrats are using all of these hearings to highlight how Trump, in many cases, has nominated cabinet officials who have taken positions in their own lives that contradict things that Trump campaigned on - that he campaigned that he would do as president. Democrats, in particular, are giving scrutiny to his nominees that have vast financial assets because of the conflicts of interest they might have. They've delayed hearings for nominees, including Betsy DeVos for education, Wilbur Ross for commerce and Andy Puzder for labor secretary.
You know, as a result, Trump is looking at a much slower Senate process than past presidents have had. President Obama, on his first day in office, had seven nominees - five by the end of the week. Trump is much less likely to have those same numbers, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said this week that he is prioritizing his national security team. He'd like to have those ready on day one. That includes Jay Mattis (ph) - James Mattis for defense secretary and Mike Pompeo for CIA director.
CORNISH: That's NPR congressional correspondent, Sue Davis. Sue, thank you.
DAVIS: Thanks, Audie.