Story highlights Trump made the news official Friday

He was the first sitting senator to endorse Trump for president

Washington (CNN) President-elect Donald Trump intends to nominate Sen. Jeff Sessions to be his next attorney general, the presidential transition announced Friday.

Sessions, 69, is currently serving his fourth Senate term and was the first sitting senator to endorse Trump. During Trump's campaign, he served as a key validator from within the Republican establishment at critical times and urged Republicans to coalesce around Trump.

Sessions had been in consideration for several Cabinet positions, and as one of Trump's earliest and most loyal supporters.

"Jeff has been a highly respected member of the U.S. Senate for 20 years," Trump said in a statement. "He is a world-class legal mind and considered a truly great Attorney General and US Attorney in the state of Alabama. Jeff is greatly admired by legal scholars and virtually everyone who knows him."

United by their hardline stance against illegal immigration, Sessions helped Trump craft his campaign's national security policy. His top policy adviser, Stephen Miller, also joined Trump's campaign.

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