Sessions’ speech and proposal for the First Step Act played out in a political theater

For Abrams and Kemp, a Debate Rematch Recalls a 2018 Exchange

A disagreement between then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra in 2018 was the latest in a series of bitter back-and-forths between elected Democrats and Trump administration officials that often play out in the media as political theater. | Win McNamee/Getty Images

TALLAHASSEE — Two months ago, Attorney General Jeff Sessions was in California to campaign for a special election to fill a vacancy on the state Supreme Court. In his speech, Sessions told supporters about a new initiative he’d pushed, California Values, that’s designed to “strengthen families and build better California.”

And then he introduced a new initiative he’d signed just days before: “The First Step Act,” a package of laws that would tighten laws around immigration.

Sessions’ speech, and his proposal for the act, played out in a political theater that’s become a regular feature of his tenure as attorney general, a role in which it’s become difficult to predict the unpredictable.

For Sessions and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a disagreement last year over the attorney general’s position towards illegal immigration was the latest in a series of bitter back-and-forths between elected Democrats and Trump administration officials that often play out in the media as political theater. These disputes have become a key tool for the current political moment, as Democrats seek to differentiate themselves on the left and Republicans continue to use the issue to try to distance themselves from Donald Trump and his policies when they’re forced to defend him.

In Florida’s Senate race, Democratic nominee Joe Negron is running on a platform to protect undocumented immigrants. In the House race for governor, Republican Matt Gaetz recently used a series of comments and tweets about undocumented immigrants to try to make a

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