During his last set of confirmation hearings, before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1986, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions lost out on an appointment to the federal bench.

Witnesses testified that the Alabama Republican had called major civil rights organizations “un-American,” used racially insensitive language with associates and even said pot-smoking was the only reason he no longer thought the KKK was OK. His nomination was withdrawn after two fellow Republicans crossed the partisan divide on the panel to disapprove of his confirmation.

Sessions ran for the Senate a decade later and won, affirmed by Alabama voters who thought Washington had run amok. Now, Sessions, a partially reconstructed baiter of minorities, is in the mix for a Cabinet appointment. The talk of him taking over as attorney general, the person responsible for the protection of civil rights, has subsided in recent days. But he still appears to be a leading contender to run the Defense Department or the Homeland Security Department.

Much as his colleagues may be loath to keep him in their chamber — he has frustrated both Democrats and Republicans with his refusal to consent to votes on popular legislation over the course of his career — the Senate should reject him for any post that requires confirmation. He is beyond the ideological fringe, and his service in the Trump administration would be a disservice to the country.

Recall that the military was the first major American institution to integrate, under the order of Harry Truman. Surely, Sessions wouldn’t try to resegregate American armed forces, in which he served, but his ascent to the top civilian defense job would send a terrible message to people of color who wish to protect their country.