New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker praised Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions in February of 2016, almost one year before his testimony Wednesday against confirming Sessions for U.S. attorney general.
"The arc of the universe does not just naturally curve toward justice, we must bend it," Booker said Wednesday. "America needs an attorney general who is resolute and determined to bend the arc. Sen. Sessions' record does not speak to that desire, intention, or will."
Booker, a Democrat, teamed up with Sessions in 2016, a Republican, to sponsor a bill that would award the Congressional Gold Medal to civil rights pioneers who marched in Alabama from Selma to Montgomery in support of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
"This is truly one of my life's greatest moments," Booker said at the event. "I am humbled to be able to participate here in paying tribute to some of the extraordinary Americans whose footsteps paved the way for me and my generation. I feel blessed and honored to have partnered with Sen. Sessions in being the Senate sponsors of this important award."
A clip of Booker's speech was posted on YouTube.
Writing in the Washington Examiner, Ron Christie, a former special assistant to George W. Bush, criticized Booker's testimony against Sessions.
"That Booker, a relatively new and inexperienced senator from the minority party, would publicly assail a senior senator from the majority is surprising in and of itself," Christie wrote. "But for Booker to do so because of his so-called concerns regarding Sessions' temperament on race and civil rights is appalling."
Christie questioned why Sessions would sponsor the Gold Medal bill if he were the "bigot and racist" Booker implied.
He also accused Booker of playing the "race card," because he aims to be president.
"That Booker would make his move based not on substance or legislative accomplishment but instead by playing the race card illustrates the depths to which the Democratic Party has recently descended," Christie wrote in the Examiner.
Democrats have used up the "race card" during President Barack Obama's administration, according to Christie.
"For Democrats to succeed in the days ahead, they must chart a positive message and vision as to why they should be given the honor and trust to hold elective office," Christie wrote.
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