Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., has been a member of the United States Senate for over 17 years now. He’s currently running for a fourth term. But even though Sessions has been around for a while, there has never been a point during his career that his star has shined brighter than it is right now, thanks in large part to his outspoken opposition to the bi-partisan push for so-called “comprehensive immigration reform.”
Breitbart News recently referred to him as “the leading intellectual force against amnesty in Congress.” Mark Levin wondered aloud on air last week why other Republicans aren’t fighting like Jeff Sessions. Laura Ingraham bluntly told her national radio audience in March that “we need Sessions for President.”
The media attention Sessions has garnered in recent months has no doubt elevated his profile. But it’s a more behind-the-scenes move that has some Republican heavyweights really starting to pay attention.
Over the weekend, Sessions was the keynote speaker at an event held by the Council for National Policy (CNP), an organization with a nondescript name but a reputation that borders on legendary.
ABC News called it the “self-selected, conservative counterweight to the influential center-left establishment.” It is believed by many to be the group Hillary Clinton was referring to when she told NBC News’ Katie Couric that her husband was a victim of a “vast, right-wing conspiracy.” One Clinton advisor concluded at the time that CNP “has the ideology, the money and the political backing to cause social change in the United States.”
But CNP remains largely unknown to the public.
Many of the group’s members decline interviews, citing their long-standing policy against press publicity. The semi-secret air the group has taken on has made it a favorite target of liberal conspiracy theorists. In an era when every conservative organization seems to be trying to out-megaphone the others, the Council for National Policy stands out because, well, it doesn’t want to stand out.
But here is what a couple of influential conservatives have said about the group:
Since 1981, no other organization has come close to being as useful as the Council for National Policy in making it possible for a wide range of powerful conservatives to work effectively together. CNP Action, Inc., its lobbying arm, is CNP’s key to making things happen politically. – Morton Blackwell, Founder and President of The Leadership Institute
CNP Action, Inc. has the ear of the nation’s most influential conservative leaders and works to provide information and encourage their action on significant legislative issues. – Edwin Meese III, Former U.S. Attorney General
CNP holds a handful of events each year with a few hundred guests who are a veritable who’s who of the conservative movement. Past speakers have included U.S. presidents, CIA directors, presidential candidates, senators, congressmen and other leaders in politics, policy and conservative thought.
This past weekend’s event was held at the Ritz-Carlton in McLean, Va. and featured speakers like RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and potential 2016 presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio.
But the group’s choice to headline the event on Friday was none other than Alabama’s Junior Senator Jeff Sessions.
According to attendees who spoke on condition of anonymity, Sessions delivered a speech titled, “How to Champion the American Worker.” His remarks covered the entire GOP agenda — ObamaCare repeal, American energy, tax reform, etc. — but focused in particular on how to boost the party’s standing with lower-income voters through a stronger stance on trade and immigration.
“He really got the people going,” one Council for National Policy member told Yellowhammer. “You would have had to see it to really understand what I mean by that. But you’ve got to remember, these are people who are used to being in the room with presidents. It takes a lot to excite that crowd.”
Another individual who attended the event said that conservative heavyweights have started considering what the future may hold for Sessions.
“It’s probably not realistic to start throwing him around as a possible 2016 contender. The national donor network isn’t there. There are a lot of guys who have in essence been running for president for years and stoking that fire for a long time,” the conference attendee said. “But I’ll say this, Jeff Sessions will be a major player when Republicans take the Senate, if he wants to be — a real thought leader. You could envision a cabinet post in a Republican Administration, too, in 2017.”
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
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