Sessions says judges must have 'read the New York Times' before decision on gay workers
Attorney General Jeff Sessions/Shutterstock.com.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday criticized a federal appeals court decision protecting gay workers and blasted federal judges who are issuing nationwide injunctions that are blocking Trump administration policies.
Sessions said an en banc federal appeals court reversed the court’s own precedent when it ruled Monday that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation, the National Law Journal reports.
The Justice Department had told the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that Title VII doesn’t protect workers from sexual-orientation discrimination.
“We believe we’re on the right principle there,” Sessions said Tuesday in remarks to the National Association of Attorneys General. “And I guess maybe the judges woke up that morning, read the New York Times or something, and decided their previous ruling was wrong.”
Sessions also said that a court decision blocking President Donald Trump’s immigration policies threaten the role of the judiciary as a co-equal branch of government, USA Today reports.
The decisions smack of “judicial superiority,” Sessions said.
Sessions also said top lawyers in the Justice Department believe that bump stocks can be banned through the regulatory process, Reuters reports. He noted that President Trump had asked the Justice Department to draft regulations that would ban the devices, which are used to accelerate gunfire on semi-automatic weapons.
“We will have an announcement on that soon,” he said.
A video of Sessions’ appearance is here. His prepared remarks concerned violent crime.
