Alabama Governor Robert Bentley has appointed the state’s Attorney General Luther Strange to replace Jeff Sessions in the U.S. Senate.
Sessions was confirmed yesterday as the 84th Attorney General of the United States, leaving a vacancy for Alabama’s representation in the Senate. Strange will begin serving in the Senate immediately and will hold the position until a special election is held during next year’s general elections. The winner of that election will serve the remainder of Sessions’ term, which ends in 2020.
Strange says he’s "greatly honored and humbled" to accept the appointment. Governor Bentley says Strange’s "leadership on a national level, service as a statewide elected official and long record of taking on tough federal issues are the very qualities that will make him a strong conservative Senator for Alabama."
Strange's appointment comes just two months after he asked Alabama's House Judiciary Committee to hold off on their investigation into whether Gov. Bentley committed any impeachable offenses during his alleged affair with a former political advisor. Bentley will now be responsible for appointing the state's next top prosecutor.
Strange and Bentley are scheduled to hold a press conference later this morning.