Sen. Jeff Sessions is expected to be confirmed when his nomination comes to the Senate floor, despite limited Democratic support. | AP Photo Senate delays Sessions' confirmation vote

Sen. Jeff Sessions' confirmation vote for attorney general in the Senate Judiciary Committee will wait another week.

The powerful panel officially agreed to delay the official committee vote on his nomination due to requests from Democrats, who said they wanted more time to review Sessions and the paperwork surrounding his nomination. The vote will now be Jan. 31, and his nomination will head to the Senate floor after that.


Sessions, an Alabama senator, submitted nearly 200 pages of written responses to questions to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sunday. California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said Democratic staffers need more time to review those answers. Senators may have more questions for Sessions, she said.

Feinstein also invoked last weekend’s Women’s March on Washington as a reason for the deliberate consideration of Sessions’ nomination.

“Once again we are being asked to evaluate a nomination of our next attorney general. He is charged with enforcing the law and upholding the protections that women have fought so hard to secure,” Feinstein said. “This nomination is critically important. This committee must have enough time to fully consider Sen. Sessions’ record to evaluate his answers to our questions and to determine what kind of attorney general he will be if confirmed.”

With support from Republicans, Sessions is expected to be confirmed when his nomination comes to the Senate floor, despite limited Democratic support.