Subject: Sessions Daily, 5.2
From: "Kasnetz, Joel" <[email-masked]>
To: "Brinster, Jeremy" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 2 May 2016 08:34:07 -0700

Donald Trump's Running Mate

Bob Beckel: Jeff Sessions Or Chris Christie Would Likely Accept An Offer To Be Donald Trump's Running Mate, If Asked. SMERCONISH: "How about -- I'm not going to identify any women yet but how about Jeff Sessions, Bob Beckel? I mean, he's a Trump supporter in the Senate, one of the only ones. Could you see him being tapped?" BECKEL: "Sure. I think he would take it. I mean, probably, the two people who would take it right now are Sessions and Christie, because they're both been hooked up with Trump now for several months." [Smerconish, CNN, 4/30/16]

New York Times: "Senator [Jeff] Sessions, Who Is Advising Mr. Trump On Foreign Policy, Said He Would Send His Personal Tax Information To The Trump Campaign If It Wanted To Vet Him." [New York Times, 4/30/16<http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/us/politics/donald-trump-vice-president.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&_r=1>]

Jeff Sessions On Donald Trump's Resemblance To Pagan King In The Bible: "Scripture Says, 'He Didn't Know The Lord, Didn't Respect The Lord, But The Lord Used Him To Advance His Kingdom. I Just Believe That At This Point In History, Trump Will Defend Religious Faith. I Talk To Him About That." [Birmingham News, 5/2/16]

US Senate Inaction

Politico: "Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) Noted That Many Of The Accomplishments [Of The Current Congress] Were Must-Do, 'Bread-And-Butter' Senate Work." [Politico, 5/2/16<http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/senate-light-work-schedule-222460>]

Jeff Sessions On The Low Productivity Of The Current Congress: "I Hear From A Lot Of People - A Complaint And Concern That I Think Is Valid - That We Need To Bring Up Some Legislation That We Believe In, Even Though It May Be Opposed On The Other Side, At Least Show What We Are Fighting For." "Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) noted that many of the accomplishments were must-do, 'bread-and-butter' Senate work. McConnell has refrained from launching a steady stream of sure-to-fail political votes, a strategy Democrats used effectively in 2012, but with little success in 2014. 'I hear from a lot of people - a complaint and concern that I think is valid - that we need to bring up some legislation that we believe in, even though it may be opposed on the other side,' Sessions said. 'At least show what we are fighting for.'" [Politico, 5/2/16<http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/senate-light-work-schedule-222460>]

Immigration

Rapid City Journal's Bob Franken: Jeff Sessions Has "Been [Donald] Trump's Idea Man For His Hateful Immigration Pronouncements." "Obviously, there are some serious possibilities out there who might be willing -- Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, for instance, who's been Trump's idea man for his hateful immigration pronouncements. Let's not forget, being Donald Trump's VP may not be a full-time job. Maybe, they can work a deal where whoever it is also moonlights as Kelly's co-host. Strange? No more so than the campaign has already been." [Opinion, Rapid City Journal, 5/1/16]

The Economic Times: Jeff Sessions Has Proposed Prevailing Wage Rules For Workers In The United States With H-1B Visas. "The prevailing wage is the minimum wage that an employer must pay an H-1B worker. Right now that wage is set far below the actual wages paid to American workers. As a result, employers have a profit motive to replace Americans with H-1Bs. The second component of the proposal is to require employers to actively recruit American workers before turning to the H-1B programme. Both of these proposals would fix the H-1B so that it works as it is intended: to fill skills gaps in the American labour market. These proposals are consistent with those introduced by policymakers that span the ideological spectrum, from liberal Democratic Senators Richard Durbin and Bernie Sanders to conservative Republican Senators Charles Grassley, Ted Cruz and Jeff Sessions." [The Economic Times, 5/1/16<http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/visa-and-immigration/donald-trumps-position-on-reforming-the-h1-b-programme-is-sensible-straightforward-and-consistent/articleshow/52057221.cms>]

Washington Post's Fact Checker: In His Foreign Policy Speech, Donald Trump May Have Inaccurately Referenced Jeff Sessions List "Of 30 Foreign-Born Individuals Who Were Arrested On Charges Relating To Terrorism In Recent Years." "'There are scores of recent migrants inside our borders charged with terrorism. For every case known to the public, there are dozens and dozens more. We must stop importing extremism through senseless immigration policies.'   - Donald Trump, foreign policy address, April 27, 2016...The claim may be a bungled reference to a list from the office of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) of 30 foreign-born individuals who were arrested on charges relating to terrorism in recent years. This list is quoted in several articles, and described as a 'partial inventory of recently implicated terrorist migrants.' Sessions is also a high-profile supporter of Trump and chairs his national security advisory committee." [Washington Post, 5/2/16<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/05/02/donald-trumps-false-claim-that-scores-of-recent-migrants-in-the-u-s-are-charged-with-terrorism/>]

Misc.

April 2015: "Sen. Sessions' Approval Rating Was 54 Percent. His Disapproval Rate Was 25 Percent And 21 Percent Had No Opinion." [Birmingham News, 5/1/16]