U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin says his Democratic colleagues will pose tough questions to President-elect Donald Trump’s appointees.
Durbin will vote on nominees such as Sen. Jeff Sessions for U.S. Attorney General. Durbin has worked closely with Sessions in the past but also differed with the Alabama Republican on certain issues. He wants Sessions to lay out his views on immigration and criminal justice reform.
"When things come out in the course of a hearing that make it a public and controversial issue," Durbin says, "some Republicans may view this differently and join us if we are resisting a nominee."
Republicans will have a narrow majority in the Senate next year. Only three GOP senators would have to join with Democrats to sink a Trump nominee.
Durbin also hopes 750,000 young adults brought to the U.S. as undocumented immigrants won’t be deported under a Trump administration. Durbin is among the Senate's Democratic leaders concerned that the President-elect will rescind an executive order by President Obama that allows these young people to remain in the United States. Many are in college, and Durbin notes that 28 are in Illinois medical schools.
But Durbin holds out some hope.
"We were encouraged by a statement made by President-elect Trump in Time magazine which acknowledged that many of these young people did deserve a chance," Durbin said.
The senator is working on a bipartisan bill that would allow these individuals to remain temporarily, as long as they have no criminal records.