Jeff Sessions: Everything You Need to Know About Trump's Pick for Attorney General

The Senate will vote tonight on whether to confirm Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions as the next attorney general in the Trump administration.

Sessions' nomination as the head of the Department of Justice has drawn significant criticism from Democrats and civil rights groups. In 1986, he failed to be confirmed for a federal judgeship following testimony that he made racially tinged remarks. His confirmation hearings last month were also not without controversy.

Here's everything you need to know about Sessions:

Name: Jefferson Beauregard "Jeff" Sessions III

Party: Republican

Date of Birth: December 24, 1946

Honetown: Selma, Alabama, a city that had a notable role in the Civil Rights Movement. Earlier this year, Sessions reflected on the historic nature of his birthplace. “Certainly I feel like I should have stepped forward more,” he said of his role in the Civil Rights Movement.

Family Tree: Sessions was born to Abbie and Jefferson Beauregard Sessions. His father owned a general store in Hybart, Alabama, and a farm equipment dealership. He has three children and six grandchildren.

Age: 70

What He Does Now: U.S. senator from Alabama (serving his fourth term)

What He Used to Do: Sessions brings almost 20 years of experience to the Senate. He was first elected in 1996. He is also a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and served as Alabama's 44th attorney general (elected in 1994). From 1981 to 1993, he also served as US Attorney for Alabama's Southern District, and from 1975 to 1977 he was Assistant US Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama.

He supported President George W. Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cut packages, the war in Iraq and a proposed amendment to ban same-sex marriage. He has opposed most major Democratic legislation, including the stimulus bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act.

From a legal perspective, Sessions is "a leading advocate of confirming federal judges who follow the law and do not legislate from the bench," according to his Senate website.

In August of 2016, he told CNN's Alisyn Camerota he thinks the Clinton Foundation should be fully investigated, because he thinks Hillary Clinton used her position as Secretary of State to garner funds for the foundation. During his Senate hearings last month, Sessions vowed that if he's confirmed as attorney general, he would recuse himself from any matters related to Clinton.

What You May Not Know About Him:

He worked as a lawyer in Russellville and Mobile, where he still lives. He was a captain for the Army Reserve in the 1970s.

In 1986, Ronald Reagan nominated Sessions to be a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.

He was not confirmed -- the Senate Judiciary committee voted 10-8 against recommending Sessions to the whole Senate.

Four lawyers who had worked with Sessions said he had made racist comments. One said he had called the NAACP "un-American" and "Communist-inspired." Another said Sessions had called him "boy" and told him to be "careful what you say to white folks." Sessions denied the allegations.

The lawyer also said Sessions told him he thought the KKK was "OK until I found out they smoked pot." Sessions said the comment had been a joke but apologized.

In his Senate confirmation hearings last month, Sessions said, "This caricature of me in 1986 was not correct. I conducted myself honorably and properly at that time." He also added, "I did not harbor the animosities ... that I was accused of. I did not."

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