Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump’s early morning pick of Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, as attorney general caused a worldwide stir.

From marijuana industry leaders to members of Congress to nonprofits, reactions to the choice of Sessions have been mixed, with some praising his commitment to immigration prosecution and others questioning his commitment to human rights.

Republicans

Republican Party leaders seemed optimistic overall. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, tweeted his support Friday.

I strongly support President-elect @realDonaldTrump‘s selection of @SenatorSessions as #AttorneyGeneral & look forward to his confirmation. pic.twitter.com/AkdDgoKO3P

— Leader McConnell (@SenateMajLdr) November 18, 2016

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said he was “honored” to have worked with Sessions and called his appoitnment as attorney general “great news for all of us who revere the Constitution and the rule of law.”

Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee told ABC News’ Malka Abramoff it was “an absolutely wonderful [pick.]” He added, “I give a standing ovation.”

Jeff Sessions great pick for AG. He was a bold voice to stop TPP when other GOP figures were ready to give away the country.

— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) November 18, 2016

Democrats

Democratic Party leaders were not as optimistic as Republican ones.

Democratic National Committee Interim Chair Donna Brazile released a statement Friday calling the choice of Sessions “deeply troubling.”

“Over the course of his career, Senator Sessions used the power of the courts to discriminate against civil rights leaders, allegedly used racially charged language to disparage minorities, expressed support for the KKK and then tried to dismiss it as a joke, celebrated the gutting of the Voting Rights Act, opposed same-sex marriage, denied the constitutionality of Roe v. Wade, voted against greater access to healthcare for veterans, blocked the Paycheck Fairness Act, and voted against the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act,” she said.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi worried that Sessions “would have dangerous new authority to attack civil rights, LGBT rights, and the rights of immigrants and people of color,” she said in a statement.

DOJ & CIA need non-partisan leaders the American people can trust implicitly. Sen. Sessions, Rep. Pompeo are not it. https://t.co/XzJxpwDG2C pic.twitter.com/V7vPAeTf5U

— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) November 18, 2016

Senator-elect Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada, the country’s first Latina senator, condemned the AG-to-be’s anti-immigrant policies.

Jeff Sessions for AG? The man supports anti-immigrant policies and was deemed too racist for federal judgeship by GOP Senate. Unacceptable.

— CatherineCortezMasto (@CatherineForNV) November 18, 2016

Nonprofits and Advocacy Groups

The ACLU stated it would neither support nor oppose presidential or judicial nominations, but outlined Sessions’ records and statements. “Sen. Sessions has called the ACLU un-American and communist, assertions we flatly reject. His positions on LGBT rights, capital punishment, abortion rights, and presidential authority in times of war have been contested by the ACLU and other civil rights organizations,” the organization stated in a press release.

Trump attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions prosecuted civil rights activists for trying to register Black voters.

— ACLU National (@ACLU) November 18, 2016

The NAACP’s Legal Defense and Educational Fund took a similar stance, stating in a release, “Jeff Sessions has a decades-long record — from his early days as a prosecutor to his present role as a Senator — of opposing civil rights and equality. It is unimaginable that he could be entrusted to serve as the chief law enforcement officer for this nation’s civil rights laws. This is yet another signal from the incoming administration that it is not only prepared to turn its back on equality, it is actively working to continue to sow division and undo decades of progress.”

Sen. Sessions as AG is deeply troubling, and supports an old, ugly history where Civil Rights were not regarded as core American values.

— NAACP (@NAACP) November 18, 2016

In a statement, Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus B.K. Butterfield called Sessions’ civil rights record “appalling,” saying it “should disqualify him from Senate confirmation.”

Other Groups

Even marijuana industry leaders weighed in Friday, voicing concern about the history of Trump’s pick advocating for the “failed war on drugs” and condemnation of the cannabis industry. CalConn Holdings President Aaron Herzberg called Sessions “the worst pick that Trump could have made for attorney general as it comes to marijuana issues” in a statement. He cited the Alabama senator’s remarks that “good people don’t smoke marijuana” and that its legalization causes a “disturbance.”

Green Lion Partners President Jeff Zucker shared the sentiment, but said that he is “hopeful that the industry’s advancement, especially in the most recent election, will lead to [Sessions’] being open-minded as to the incredible benefits cannabis is already having.”

Perhaps the most controversial of Sessions’ support declarations came from Former KKK Leader David Duke, who tweeted, “Bannon, Flynn, Sessions — Great! Senate must demand that Sessions as AG stop the massive institutional race discrimination against whites!” The Trump campaign has declined Duke’s support.

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