Grassley wants hearing on Trump AG before inauguration

Sen. Chuck GrassleyCharles (Chuck) Ernest Grassley Trump Jr. subpoena spotlights GOP split over Russia probes On The Money: House chairman issues subpoenas for Trump's tax returns | Trump touts trade talks as China, US fail to reach deal | Five things to know about Trump's trade war with China | GOP offers support for Trump on tariffs GOP offers support for Trump on China tariffs MORE (R-Iowa) is signaling he wants to move quickly on President-elect Donald TrumpDonald John Trump States fight Trump rollback of Obama lightbulb rules Authorities investigating shooting near Trump resort in Florida Trump: 'China is dreaming' Biden, other Dems get elected MORE's nomination of Sen. Jeff SessionsJefferson (Jeff) Beauregard Sessions Rosenstein leaves Justice after eventful tenure Barr cracks joke about contempt vote: 'This must be a record' The Hill's Morning Report - Barr held in contempt after Trump invokes executive privilege, angering Dems MORE (R-Ala.) as attorney general.

"Historically, at least in the case of [John] Ashcroft and in the case of [Eric] Holder, we've had the hearings prior to the inauguration," Grassley told reporters. "And it would be my intention to move ahead in that procedure that we did with Ashcroft and with Holder."

The confirmation hearing for Holder started on Jan. 16, 2009, four days before President Obama was inaugurated. He was confirmed as Obama's first attorney general in early February of that year.

Grassley will be responsible for starting Sessions's confirmation process as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Grassley is also the first lawmaker to meet with Sessions.

In a statement after the meeting, Grassley said that he and Sessions discussed "a number of issues" including congressional oversight and and criminal justice reform.

Grassley spearheaded a bill last year, which Sessions actively opposed, to overhaul the criminal justice system.

The Iowa lawmaker added that he's sent a questionnaire to Sessions and will set a hearing date once it is returned.

Democrats have pledged to fight Sessions's nomination, suggesting his selection reflects their larger concerns about how the Trump administration will handle immigration and civil rights.

They have questioned whether the Alabama Republican would be committed to providing equal protection to all Americans, three decades after Sessions was blocked from a federal judgeship because of racism accusations that surfaced during his confirmation hearing.

Grassley appeared to hit back at those accusations, telling reporters that Sessions would be an "even-handed" attorney general and that he believes Republicans and Democrats would give Sessions a fair hearing.

"Everybody on the Judiciary Committee knows Senator Sessions very well," he said. "They know that he's a very honorable man. They know that he's a man of integrity."

Grassley added that Democrats should resist turning the confirmation hearings into an "attack" on Sessions's character.

"The confirmation process of John Ashcroft to be Attorney General turned into a reckless campaign that snowballed into an avalanche of innuendo, rumor and spin. That will not happen here," he said.

Sessions — who voted to confirm Holder as the nation's first black attorney general — has repeatedly denied the accusations that he called an African-American assistant U.S. attorney “boy” or that he called the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union “un-American.”

Democrats face an uphill battle to stop Sessions's nomination because of their decision to go "nuclear" in 2013 and lower the threshold for most nominations to a simple majority.

Every Republican member on the Judiciary Committee has come out in support of the nomination, and Sen. Joe ManchinJoseph (Joe) Manchin Trump court pick confirmed despite no blue slip from Schumer, Gillibrand Overnight Health Care: Trump wants HHS to help Florida with drug imports | Graham calls inaction on drug prices 'unacceptable' | Abortion battles heat up with Kavanaugh on Supreme Court Bipartisan pair of senators urges Barr to defend ObamaCare in court MORE (W.Va.) became the first Democrat to say he will support Sessions.