WASHINGTON -- President Obama's nominees to head the Department of Homeland Security is not qualified to head the agency, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said before the Senate Monday.

The president's nominee, Jeh Johnson, has served as general counsel for the Department of Defense and he is one of the first nominations to go before the U.S. Senate since Democrats used the so-called "nuclear option," changing the Senate rules to make partisan filibusters more difficult.

On Monday, Sessions decried the rule change and he said that Johnson should answer questions about how he believes the department should enforce immigration laws. Because of the rule change, Johnson will not face that scrutiny, Sessions said.

The White House has not enforced immigration laws, Sessions said, and it has not done a good job managing the Department of Homeland Security.

"This administration's goal is to further undermine their ability to be effective," Sessions said.

While calling Johnson a "nice man," Sessions pointed out that he had been a major campaign contributor to Democrats and to the president.