Trump Taps Sessions as Attorney General

President-elect Donald Trump has picked Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) to be his attorney general.

That will put him atop the Justice Department, which reviews most communications mergers for antitrust issues.

Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) praised the choice in an emailed statement Friday. Sessions is a senior member and former ranking member of the Judiciary Committee.

"Senator Sessions is a respected member and former Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee who has worked across the aisle on major legislation," Grassley wrote. "He knows the Justice Department as a former U.S. attorney, which would serve him very well in this position. With this background, I'm confident he would be reported favorably out of the committee."

Sessions was a strong supporter of Trump on the campaign trail. Trump met with Sessions Thursday and made a strong impression.

"While nothing has been finalized and he is still talking with others as he forms his cabinet," the transition website said, "the President-elect has been unbelievably impressed with Senator Sessions and his phenomenal record as Alabama's Attorney General and U.S. Attorney. It is no wonder the people of Alabama re-elected him without opposition."

Trump has also picked Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) as director of the CIA and Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn as assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.