Donald Trump Selects Jeff Sessions for Attorney General

President-elect Donald Trump will tap Sen. Jeff Sessions to be his Attorney General, according to Bloomberg News and the New York Times.

Sessions, the first U.S. Senator to endorse Trump, was rumored for a number of positions in Trump’s cabinet, including Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense but it appears that the former Attorney General of Alabama has been selected for the highest law and order position in the administration.

Sen. Ted Cruz was also rumored for the position after he was spotted at Trump Tower, meeting with the president elect.

The official announcement from Trump’s transition team is expected later today.

In addition, Rep. Mike Pompeo has been selected by Trump as CIA director and retired General Mike Flynn has been selected as his national security adviser.

Pompeo, who serves on the House Intelligence Committee, is popular with the national security hawks in Washington as he supports restoring the intelligence community’s ability to collect bulk metadata. He is also a firm opponent of the Iran Deal and served on the House special committee to investigate the Benghazi attacks.

UPDATE:

In a news release, the Trump campaign provides more details about the nominees:

It is an honor to nominate U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions to serve as Attorney General of the United States,” said President-elect Trump. “Jeff has been a highly respected member of the U.S. Senate for 20 years. He is a world-class legal mind and considered a truly great Attorney General and U.S. Attorney in the state of Alabama. Jeff is greatly admired by legal scholars and virtually everyone who knows him.”

“I am humbled to have been asked by President-elect Trump to serve as Attorney General of the United States,” said U.S. Senator Sessions. “My previous 15 years working in the Department of Justice were extraordinarily fulfilling. I love the Department, its people and its mission. I can think of no greater honor than to lead them. With the support of my Senate colleagues, I will give all my strength to advance the Department’s highest ideals. I enthusiastically embrace President-elect Trump’s vision for ‘one America,’ and his commitment to equal justice under law. I look forward to fulfilling my duties with an unwavering dedication to fairness and impartiality.”

Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, a retired United States Army Lieutenant General and former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, assumes the position of National Security Advisor with a decorated career of more than 35 years in service to our nation. He served as President-elect Trump’s top military advisor during the campaign and will now continue providing expert advice and support to the President-elect as his National Security Advisor.

“I am pleased that Lieutenant General Michael Flynn will be by my side as we work to defeat radical Islamic terrorism, navigate geopolitical challenges and keep Americans safe at home and abroad,” said President-elect Trump. “General Flynn is one of the country’s foremost experts on military and intelligence matters and he will be an invaluable asset to me and my administration.”

“I am deeply humbled and honored to accept the position as National Security Advisor to serve both our country and our nation’s next President, Donald J. Trump,” said Lieutenant General Flynn.

Congressman Mike Pompeo, representing Kansas’ Fourth Congressional District, is a former active duty cavalry officer in the U.S. Army, graduated first in his class from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, received his J.D. from Harvard Law School and was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. He currently serves on the House Intelligence Committee, which oversees America’s intelligence-gathering efforts.

“I am proud to nominate Congressman Mike Pompeo as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency,” said President-elect Trump. “He has served our country with honor and spent his life fighting for the security of our citizens. Mike graduated number one in his class at West Point and is a graduate of Harvard Law School where he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. He will be a brilliant and unrelenting leader for our intelligence community to ensure the safety of Americans and our allies.”

“I am honored to have been given this opportunity to serve and to work alongside President-elect Donald J. Trump to keep America safe. I also look forward to working with America’s intelligence warriors, who do so much to protect Americans each and every day,” said Congressman Pompeo.