“Even individuals who voted against Sen. Sessions' confirmation 30 years ago ultimately regretted it,” the talking points say. | AP Photo Trump team urges GOP to play up Sessions' 'strong civil rights record'

President-elect Donald Trump’s team is advising Senate Republicans to promote Jeff Sessions’ deep familiarity with the Justice Department, his “strong civil rights record” and that he is “known for his deep respect and adherence to the rule of law” as senators talk about the his nomination as attorney general.

For Steven Mnuchin, the Trump team wants senators to emphasize that the former Goldman Sachs executive is a “world-class financier” whose history in the financial sector “make him the ideal candidate” to be Trump’s pick to lead the Treasury Department. And Tom Price, whom Trump intends to nominate for Health and Human Services secretary, is “a renowned physician” who “has earned a reputation for being a tireless problem solver.”


Those are just a sample of talking points sent by Trump’s transition team — and obtained by POLITICO — to the Senate GOP Conference this week to promote the incoming president’s choices for his administration. Trump has steadily rolled out his picks, and they’ve so far met with high praise from Republicans in the Senate, where any Cabinet nominee needs just 51 votes to be confirmed.

But Senate Democrats are guaranteed to put up a fight for at least some of the nominees, and the incoming administration is giving Republicans some guidance on how to push back.

For example, opponents of Sessions’ nomination have jumped on his failed bid in 1986 to be confirmed as a federal judge due to allegations that he used racist comments as a prosecutor. But the transition wants senators to point out that the Alabama senator has led desegregation lawsuits in his home state, voted to extend the Civil Rights Act and he voted to to confirm former Attorney General Eric Holder, the first African-American to lead the Justice Department.

“Even individuals who voted against Sen. Sessions’ confirmation 30 years ago ultimately regretted it,” the talking points added. “The late Senator Arlen Specter said, ‘My vote against candidate Sessions for the federal court was a mistake because I have since found that Sen. Sessions is egalitarian.’”

The guidance includes talking points for Sessions; Mnuchin; Price; Wilbur Ross and Todd Ricketts (secretary and deputy secretary of commerce, respectively); Elaine Chao (transportation secretary); Seema Verma (administrator of the Center for Medicare &Medicaid Services); Betsy DeVos (education secretary); Nikki Haley (ambassador to the United Nations); and Mike Pompeo (director of the Central Intelligence Agency).

Here are the talking points for all announced Trump Cabinet picks so far:

