Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsTrump's policies on refugees are as simple as ABCs Ocasio-Cortez, Velázquez call for convention to decide Puerto Rico status White House officials voted by show of hands on 2018 family separations: report MORE on Tuesday announced that Army Maj. Gen. Mark Inch will serve as the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

"General Mark Inch has served this country at home and abroad for 35 years," Sessions said in a statement.

"As a military policeman for nearly a quarter of a century and as the head of Army Corrections for the last two years, General Inch is uniquely qualified to lead our federal prison system."

Sessions expressed confidence Inch would be successful in the new role.

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"My confidence that he will be a highly effective leader of the Bureau of Federal Prisons is second only to my gratitude for his willingness to continue his service to this great country in this critical role," Sessions said.

The announcement comes after Sessions in recent weeks has been facing criticism from President Trump, raising questions about his future in the administration.

Many Senate Republicans have come to the defense of Sessions, and the attorney general has said he plans to stay in his role for as long as it is appropriate.

Inch is slated to take the helm of the federal prison system following Thomas Kane, who was acting director of BOP since January 2016.