How old is Jeff Sessions? Former Attorney General and Republican US Senator from Alabama

JEFF Sessions was a passionate Donald Trump supporter during the billionaire's astonishing run to the White House.

The former Senator was rewarded with the prestigious role of Attorney General for his loyalty - before the relationship turned sour and he was fired two years into Trump's first term.

Who is Jeff Sessions?

US Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III was the Senator for Alabama from 1997 until 2017, and President Trump's former Attorney General.

Sessions, 71, was born in Selma, Alabama, and has described his upbringing in a small town as "idyllic".

His parents owned a country store where Sessions helped out as a youngster.

He studied law at the University of Alabama and practised in Mobile, Alabama, before turning to politics.

Sessions also served in the US Army Reserve between 1973 and 1986.

In 2007 he was ranked by National Journal as the fifth-most Conservative US Senator.

Before his support of Trump, Sessions was seen as a fringe figure in the Senate.

He was Attorney General for the state of Alabama from 1981-1993.

When did he become Attorney General and why was he

 a controversial choice?

Sessions became Attorney General on February 9, 2017, after he was nominated for the role by new President Donald Trump.

He was not a surprising choice - he was the first sitting US Senator to declare his support for Donald Trump's presidential bid, while wearing a "make America great again" hat.

But, his ultra-Conservative views made him a controversial one.

During his career Sessions faced allegations of racism.

In 1986 President Ronald Reagan nominated him to be a US District Court Judge.

During hearings for the appointment, other lawyers reported he had made racist remarks - claims he strongly denied.

Among the allegations were that he described the Ku Klux Klan was “OK until I found out they smoked pot”.

His nomination was rejected and he has had to repeatedly assert that he is not a racist since.

Throughout his political career Sessions has been outspoken about his opposition to immigration.

For the last decade, he has been arguing to fortify the border between America and Mexico.

It was not surprising he was a vocal supporter of Trump's campaign pledge to build a 2,000-mile-long border wall - paid for by Mexico.

Why did Jeff Sessions recuse himself from the Russia probe and when did he resign?

Sessions was fired by Trump in November 2018 - almost two years to the day since The Donald was elected President.

The reason for Sessions' dismissal stemmed from the former Senator's decision to recuse himself from any involvement in the long-running probe into whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government during the 2016 election.

In his confirmation hearing, Sessions told the Senate he had not been in contact with anyone connected to the Russian government about the 2016 election.

But numerous reports emerged that Sessions had enjoyed contact with Russian officials in the run-up to the election.

Sessions later admitted he had met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak.

The Attorney General then recused himself from the Russia probe, angering Trump, who frequently criticised Sessions on Twitter.

The President also said he would never have selected sessions as AG if he knew he was going to remove himself from the investigation.

What is the Attorney General responsible for?

The US Attorney General is the head of the Department of Justice.

The position holder is the country's chief law enforcement officer and chief lawyer for the United States government.

Attorney General, Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of Defence are generally considered to be the four most important cabinet positions.

The Attorney General is appointed by the president but must be approved by the Senate.

The president can revoke the appointment at any time.