January, 05 2017, 02:15pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com
CAIR Opposes Confirmation of Sen. Sessions as Attorney General
Muslim civil rights group urges senate committee to question AG nominee on anti-Muslim remarks, associations with hate groups, respect for civil rights
WASHINGTON
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today announced its opposition to the confirmation of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) as attorney general of the United States.
"Senator Sessions' past statements and troubling views on issues impacting American Muslims and other minority communities make him unfit to serve as attorney general," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad.
Awad said CAIR is also calling on all Americans to urge members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to question Sen. Sessions about his past anti-Muslim statements, current associations with anti-Muslim hate groups and his views on a number of civil rights issues during next week's confirmation hearing.
TAKE ACTION: See Phone Numbers and Call Script Below
SEE: Attorney General Nomination Hearing
CAIR has already expressed its concerns to members of the committee, and now the Washington-based civil rights organization is urging community members to do the same by contacting all members of that committee to urge that they question Sen. Sessions about the following issues of concern:
1. Question Sen. Sessions on His Support for Trump's Religious Test to Ban Muslims Traveling to the United States
In December 2015, Sessions voted against and publicly lashed out at a nonbinding amendment seeking to prevent a religious litmus test for people entering into the United States. The amendment had been offered by ranking Senate Judiciary Committee Member Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT).
During that vote, Session said: "Many people are radicalized after they enter. How do we screen for that possibility, if we cannot even ask about an applicant's views on religion? Would we forbid questions about politics? Or theology?"
Following the horrific shooting at an Orlando nightclub Sessions also warned Americans on FOX News Sunday in June 2016 to "slow down" on foreign born admissions into the United States, particularly those with Islamic backgrounds. "It's a real part of the threat that we face and if we can't address it openly and directly and say directly that there is an extremist element within Islam that's dangerous to the world and has to be confronted."
2. Question Sen. Sessions About Upholding the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA)
In the past 10 years, the DOJ has opened 51 Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons act (RLUIPA) investigations, filed seven lawsuits under RLUIPA's land-use provisions and participated in 40 privately filed lawsuits. A number of these cases have been in support of the right of religious minorities, including Christians, Jews, Muslim, and Sikh communities. RLUIPA protects individuals, houses of worship, and other religious institutions from discrimination in zoning and landmarking laws.
In December 2016, the Center for Security Policy published "a practical primer for assessing mosque land use applications" entitled Mosques in America: A Guide to Accountable Permit Hearings and Continuing Citizen Oversight. Given Sen. Sessions close associations with the Center for Security Policy, CAIR questions Sessions ability as Attorney General to support the right of American Muslims to construct houses of worship in the same manner one would expect him to support other religious communities.
3. Question Sen. Sessions Over His Association with Anti-Muslim Hate Groups
In 2015, Sen. Sessions accepted the "Keeper of the Flame" award from the anti-Muslim hate group Center for Security Policy, whose leader Frank Gaffney has asserted his belief in the conspiracy theory that President Obama is Muslim, writing ". . .there is mounting evidence that the president not only identifies with Muslims, but actually may still be one himself."
The FBI said a Center for Security Policy report is based on "outdated information" and "overstated" any threat Muslim observances pose to America.
Sen. Sessions has also accepted the "Annie Taylor Award" in 2014 from the anti-Muslim hate group the David Horwitz Freedom Center and attended the group's annual "Restoration Weekend" Florida retreat events in 2008, 2010 and 2013.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, a group that tracks hate movements in the United States, labels David Horowitz "the godfather of the modern anti-Muslim movement."
4. Question Why Sen. Sessions Sent a Letter to the National Endowment for the Humanities Demanding Their Justification for Funding the "Muslim Journeys Bookshelf" Program
In October 2013, Sen. Sessions as Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee sent a letter to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in part demanding a justification for why the NEH was "promoting" Islamic cultures at the expense of Christian and Jewish cultures.
The purpose of NEH's Muslim Journeys program is to "offering resources for exploring new and diverse perspectives on the people, places, histories, beliefs, and cultures of Muslims in the United States and around the world."
5. Question Sen. Sessions About Allegations of Racist Comments
In 1986, Sen. Sessions was accused of making racist comments while serving as a U.S. attorney in Alabama, including calling an African-American assistant U.S. attorney "boy." Sessions has called the NAACP and the ACLU "un-American" and "communist-inspired."
6. Question Sen. Sessions About Police Reform, Voting Rights, Civil Rights
Sen. Sessions should also be questioned about his views on other critical issues such as police-involved shootings, protection of voting rights, enforcement of hate crimes laws, discrimination in education, and immigration reform.
TAKE ACTION TODAY AND CALL MEMBERS OF THE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Suggested Message:
"Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME] and I am calling to urge Senator [NAME OF SENATOR] to oppose the confirmation of Attorney General Nominee Senator Jeff Sessions and to strongly question him about his past anti-Muslim statements and current associations with anti-Muslim hate groups as well as alleged racist remarks during next week's confirmation hearing taking place Tuesday, January 10.
Specifically, I urge the Senator to question Sen. Sessions about:
* His support for President-elect Trump's religious test to ban Muslim travels to U.S.
* Whether or not he would uphold the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA)
* His association and acceptance of awards from the anti-Muslim hate groups Center for Security Policy and David Horwitz Freedom Center.
* As Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, his demanding that the National Endowment for the Humanities justify why it supported educational programs about Muslims in the U.S.
* Allegations over his calling an African-American assistant U.S. attorney "boy" and him calling the NAACP and the ACLU "un-American" and "communist-inspired."
* His views on other critical issues such as police-involved shootings, protection of voting rights, enforcement of hate crimes laws, discrimination in education, and immigration reform.
There are millions of American Muslims in the United States making innumerable contributions to our nation's cultural fabric and economic well-being. The civil rights of all persons in the U.S., including Muslims, should be protected and preserved by the next attorney general."
Committee Leadership
Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA): (202) 224-3254
Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-VT): (202) 224-4242
Committee Membership (ordered by state)
Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ): (202) 224-4521
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA): (202) 224-3841
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT): (202) 224-2823
Senator Christopher A. Coons (D-DE): (202) 224-5042
Senator David Perdue (R-GA): (202) 224-3521
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL): (202) 224-2152
Senator David Vitter (R-LA): (202) 224-4623
Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC): (202) 224-6342
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN): (202) 224-3244
Senator Al Franken (D-MN): (202) 224-5641
Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY): (202) 224-6542
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): (202) 224-2921
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX): (202) 224-5922
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX): (202) 224-2934
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC): (202) 224-5972
Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT): (202) 224-5251
Senator Michael S. Lee (R-UT): (202) 224-5444
If you have difficulty reaching senate offices using these numbers, call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be transferred.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a grassroots civil rights and advocacy group. CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
(202) 488-8787LATEST NEWS
While Bombing Iran, Trump Sends US Troops Into Ground War on Drugs in Ecuador
"Why is Trump attacking Ecuador?" asked one leftist news outlet. "Same reason he’s in Iran + Venezuela: oil 'secured' by force, sold as fighting a 'dictatorship' and/or 'drugs.'"
Mar 04, 2026
Just over two months after US forces bombed and invaded Venezuela and abducted its alleged drug-trafficking president, the Pentagon on Tuesday announced the launch of a joint campaign with Ecuador to combat "narco-terrorists" in the South American nation.
US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) announced the operation, which, with the deployment of ground troops, opens a new front in the Trump administration's Operation Southern Spear targeting alleged drug traffickers. The campaign had previously consisted of dozens of airstrikes against boats that the US military claimed were transporting drugs in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. More than 150 people have been killed in such bombings.
Right-wing Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa—a close ally of US President Donald Trump whose family shipping business is allegedly linked to cocaine trafficking—hailed the joint operation as "a new phase against narco-terrorism."
However, many Ecuadorian leftists denounced the operation.
"How can our armed forces allow so much?" asked former President Rafael Correa, who expelled the US military from Ecuador and famously said that he would let the US renew a lease on a controversial air base in Manta only if "they let us put a base in Miami."
Last year, Ecuadorian voters rejected a proposal by Noboa to reopen US military bases in the country that were shuttered by Correa's refusal to renew their leases.
Former National Assembly president and Imbabura Province Gov. Gabriela Rivadeneira noted in a television interview that Ecuador has "the only constitution in the world that prohibits foreign military presence" within its borders.
“As the US militarization advances, organized crime and drug trafficking advance further; this country was safer without foreign bases," she contended.
The announcement of the joint campaign also prompted criticism around the world.
"As Trump deploys US troops in Ecuador, there's a real danger that he'll authorize them to summarily shoot rather than capture drug suspects as legally required," former Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth said on social media. "In short, to commit more criminal murders."
US climate campaigner Elise Joshi said on X that "Ecuador's corrupt billionaire president Noboa just gave Trump permission to carry out a military operation in the country as he guts public services, Indigenous rights, and free speech."
"Noboa sold out Ecuador to Trump's war against the [Latin American] people," Joshi added. "Shameful."
My sense is that some in the administration have been itching to put US military boots on the ground somewhere for an operation against “narco-terrorists” and then publicly brag about it and Ecuador was more amenable than say Mexico.
— Brian Finucane (@bcfinucane.bsky.social) March 3, 2026 at 7:11 PM
Others questioned the US explanation for the intervention.
"Why is Trump attacking Ecuador?" the leftist magazine In These Times wrote on its X page. "Same reason he’s in Iran + Venezuela: oil 'secured' by force, sold as fighting a 'dictatorship' and/or 'drugs.' Ecuador’s Indigenous organizers forced a pullback in drilling in 2019. Now they face the US military."
Once one of Latin America's most peaceful countries, Ecuador in recent years has become what many observers call a "cocaine superhighway" via which the majority of drugs produced in neighboring Colombia and Peru are shipped to the United States and other international markets. The booming drug trade has sparked a fierce turf war between traffickers that has plunged areas of Ecuador, especially in the coastal province of Guayas, into violence and terror.
The Trump and Noboa administrations have forged closer ties since the US leader's return to office last year, much to the chagrin of many Ecuadorian leftists—who point to the long history of US military invasions and other interventions throughout Latin America, including a CIA-backed coup in Ecuador in 1963.
The Ecuador operation comes amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, which has killed more than 1,000 people, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. Iran is the 10th country bombed on orders from US President Donald Trump, the self-proclaimed "president of peace," who has also attacked Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen.
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Thanks to Trump's Iran War, US LNG Giants Could See $20 Billion in Monthly Windfall Profits
"Oil and gas companies may achieve huge windfall profits in a year that previously looked far less lucrative for them, and billions of people could see their energy bills soar," warned one campaigner.
Mar 04, 2026
From declaring an energy emergency and ditching global climate initiatives to abducting the Venezuelan leader to seize control of the country's nationalized oil industry, President Donald Trump has taken various actions to serve his fossil fuel donors since returning to power last year. Now, his and Israel's war on Iran could soon lead to US liquefied natural gas giants pocketing tens of billions in windfall profits.
"The Persian Gulf has some of the world's largest oil and gas producers," Oil Change International research co-director Lorne Stockman explained in a Tuesday blog post, "and a large proportion of that production, around 20% of global petroleum, must pass through a relatively narrow corridor controlled by Iran to reach global markets: the Strait of Hormuz," between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
Stockman—whose advocacy group works to expose the costs of fossil fuels and facilitate a just transition to clean energy—noted that "crude oil, refined petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) traverse the strait in vast quantities every day. But not since Saturday. With missiles, fighter jets, and drones circling, shipping has ground to a halt, and Iran reportedly threatened to close the strait by force on Monday."
As the conflict in the Persian Gulf continues, fossil fuel companies are preparing for record-breaking profits while billions of people face soaring energy bills and "energy poverty."We’re tired of a world where our energy system fuels war and destroys our climate. oilchange.org/blogs/trumps...
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— 350.org (@350.org) March 4, 2026 at 4:43 AM
Based on ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic, Reuters estimated Wednesday that "at least 200 ships, including oil and liquefied natural gas tankers as well as cargo ships, remained at anchor in open waters off the coast of major Gulf producers including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar," and "hundreds of other vessels remained outside Hormuz unable to reach ports."
Stockman warned that "depending on how long the violence and its atrocious human toll continues—Trump said it may take weeks until his undefined objectives are achieved—this will have huge implications for energy markets. Oil and gas companies may achieve huge windfall profits in a year that previously looked far less lucrative for them, and billions of people could see their energy bills soar."
Since Trump and Israeli Benjamin Netanyahu launched "Operation Epic Fury" on Saturday, over 1,000 people had been killed as of Wednesday, according to the Iranian government, and oil prices have surged—highlighting how, as Greenpeace International executive director Mads Christensen put it earlier this week, "as long as our world runs on oil and gas, our peace, security and our pockets will always be at the mercy of geopolitics."
Qatar exports about 20% of the global LNG supply, second only to the United States. All of that LNG goes through the Strait of Hormuz. An Iranian drone attack on Monday targeted Qatari LNG facilities, leading state-owned QatarEnergy to declare force majeure on exports. Two unnamed sources told Reuters that QE "will fully shut down gas liquefaction on Wednesday," and "it may take at least a month to return to normal production volumes."
The Qatari shutdown is expected to boost the US LNG industry, which exported about 108 million metric tons last year. Already, shares of the two largest LNG producers in the United States, Cheniere and Venture Global, have surged.
"We've got an acute contraction of global LNG supply," Alex Munton, an expert on natural gas markets at consulting firm Rapidan Energy, told CNBC. "The world is now down 20% from where it was, and that leaves the world short."
As CNBC reported Tuesday:
US producers can't ramp LNG production beyond current levels, Munton said. "They're basically running at capacity," he said.
But since their customer contracts don't have fixed destinations, they can reroute LNG to meet demand, he said. The flexible capacity at US LNG producers like Venture and Cheniere plays a crucial role in moments of crisis, the analyst said. It's a unique feature of the US LNG industry, he added.
"The volumes are able to reroute to where the demand is greatest," Munton said. "We saw this in 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Suddenly, Europe was left short, and it was able to call on US LNG and utilize the inherent flexibility of US LNG.
US LNG cannot replace lost supply from Qatar, but buyers who really need the gas and are willing to pay a high enough price will get it, Munton said.
Seb Kennedy, the energy journalist and market analyst behind the newsletter Energy Flux, estimated Wednesday that "American LNG exports could generate up to $4 billion in windfall profits if the force majeure remains in effect for one month. This figure could rise as high as $20 billion per month if the market is deprived of Qatari supply until the summer."
"Over the first four months, US LNG profits could reach more than $33 billion above the pre-Iran average. Over eight months, that figure rises to $108 billion," he continued. "And if, in an extreme scenario, Qatari LNG is shut-in for a full year, the excess profits raining down on US LNG exports could stack up to almost $170 billion—a figure that would represent one of the most concentrated commodity windfalls of the post-2000 era."
"To put that in context, the 12-month Ukraine war windfall accruing to US LNG exporters, from August 2021 through August 2022, is estimated at $84 billion," Kennedy noted. "Iran could, in certain circumstances, eclipse that total in just over six months."
My latest for Energy Flux:💥 War profits, quantified 💥As Middle East regional war upends global gas markets, US LNG exporters stand to pocket a multi-billion-dollar windfallCheck it out 👉 www.energyflux.news/war-profits...
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— Seb Kennedy (@sebkennedy.bsky.social) March 4, 2026 at 11:58 AM
As the US Senate prepared for a vote on a war powers resolution that is not expected to pass but would swiftly halt Trump's assault on Iran, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the war could last at least eight weeks. He also announced that an American submarine fired a torpedo that sank an Iranian naval ship off the coast of Sri Lanka.
On Tuesday, Trump had responded to Iran's attempt to shut down the Strait of Hormuz with a post on his Truth Social platform: "Effective IMMEDIATELY, I have ordered the United States Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to provide, at a very reasonable price, political risk insurance and guarantees for the Financial Security of ALL Maritime Trade, especially Energy, traveling through the Gulf. This will be available to all Shipping Lines. If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible. No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD. The United States’ ECONOMIC and MILITARY MIGHT is the GREATEST ON EARTH—More actions to come."
However, as the New York Times highlighted Wednesday, "shipping company officials and analysts are skeptical" of Trump's promised fixes, and "some industry executives also worried how quickly these could get up and running."
For example, Helima Croft, the global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, wrote to clients on Tuesday that "we think the insurance proposal is likely in a concepts-of-a-plan stage," and she questioned whether there are enough US naval assets in the region to actually provide escorts.
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Talarico Win Shows Democrats Can't 'Write Off Latinos Who Voted for Trump': Ex-Sanders Strategist
Democratic operative Chuck Rocha described Talarico as "a special candidate" who "ran the right kind of race at the right time."
Mar 04, 2026
James Talarico's victory in the Democratic US Senate primary in Texas on Tuesday shows why it would be a mistake to think Latino voters who jumped ship to support President Donald Trump in 2024 are a lost cause, according to Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha.
Rocha, who worked on Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) 2020 presidential campaign and who is a senior adviser for Talarico's campaign, told the Wall Street Journal that the Democratic Senate hopeful won over Latino support in Texas by focusing on a populist economic message first and foremost, such as when he accused US billionaires of "stealing from the American people, stealing the wealth that we created."
"Latinos are an aspirational people, and they want to aspire," said Rocha. "And they are also religious people, and they're... for economic populism."
The Journal noted that Talarico easily bested his rival for the nomination, US Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), by roughly 27 percentage points in Texas counties whose populations are 60% or more Latino, including counties in the southern part of the state that were longtime Democratic strongholds that swung to Trump in 2024.
The lesson of the election for Democrats, Rocha told the Journal, is "don’t write off Latinos that voted for Donald Trump."
In a video posted on social media Wednesday, Rocha elaborated on how Talarico and his campaign secured the nomination, calling the Texas Democrat "a special candidate" who "ran the right kind of race at the right time."
The facts about how @TeamTalaricoHQ won last night pic.twitter.com/1IUd9VpPUh
— Chuck Rocha (@ChuckRocha) March 4, 2026
Beyond that, Rocha said, Talarico and his staff were simply relentless campaigners willing to seek votes wherever they could find them.
"He won because he showed up in communities," Rocha said. "He ran advertising in those communities. He had an amazing field team of 28,000 volunteers, over 600 community events in just eight weeks. They sent over 4 million peer-to-peer texts."
Rocha said that it was too soon to say whether Talarico's message meant that Latino voters were returning to Democrats more broadly, but added, "They will move back for James Talarico if you show up and give them a hopeful message."
Rocha's enthusiasm for Talarico was echoed by Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
"James Talarico is the future of the Democratic Party," Casar declared in a social media post. "He unites working people of all kinds to take on the billionaires who are making life unaffordable. He’s going to show Texas Republicans how powerful working people are when we stand together. On to victory in November."
Mark McKinnon, a one-time Texas political operative who has worked for both Republicans and Democrats, said in an interview with Politico that Talarico's victory would be an unwelcome development for the Texas GOP, which will have to work harder to defeat him than other prospective Democratic nominees.
"A perfect storm is lining up for Texas Democrats," McKinnon said. "They have a nominee who can appeal to moderates and soft Republicans. Talarico could be Moses who leads the Lone Star Democrats out of the desert they’ve been in for 35 years."
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