Peter Anderson Sessions (born March 22, 1955) is an American politician who serves in the United States House of Representatives for Texas's 17th congressional district as a member of the Republican Party.

In 1996, when Bryant ran for a Senate seat, Sessions was elected to succeed him in the 5th District, defeating Democratic nominee John Pouland with 47% of the vote.

When redistricting after the 2000 census made the 5th slightly more Democratic, he moved to the newly created 32nd District, in which he ran in the 2002 election and defeated Pauline Dixon with 68% of the vote.

According to the Associated Press, "The race also was one of the nastiest, with Frost unearthing a decades-old streaking incident by Sessions in his college days and questioning his commitment to security with an ad featuring the World Trade Center towers in flames.

In the 2014 Republican primary, Sessions defeated conservative Katrina Pierson, an African American aligned with the Tea Party movement, polling 28,954 votes (63.6%) to her 16,560 (36.4%).

Sessions's bid received a chilly reception from some Republicans in the district, including the retiring five-term incumbent, Bill Flores.

[16][17] In November 1997, Sessions was one of 18 House Republicans to co-sponsor a resolution by Bob Barr that sought to launch an impeachment inquiry against President Bill Clinton.

[38] Sessions and Rudy Giuliani were involved in back-channel talks attempting to persuade Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to leave office in 2018.

The negotiations were opposed by White House officials including then-National Security Adviser John Bolton, The Washington Post reported.

[39] In late 2001 and early 2002, Sessions cosigned letters to two Cabinet members asking them to shut down casinos operated by several Native American tribes.

[44] In 2022, Sessions was one of 39 Republicans to vote for the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.

[47] In March 2016, Sessions introduced a House resolution to "recognize magic as a rare and valuable art form and national treasure.

As chair of the House Rules Committee, he repeatedly stifled proposed amendments relaxing federal laws against cannabis, including one that would have allowed medical marijuana access to veterans in states where the drug is legal.

[54][55] In 2016, Sessions criticized the independent, nonpartisan Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), calling it "a political witch hunt" and "an outside process that's very controversial, is not working well and is highly unpopular because of its original mandate and jurisdiction is hugely flawed.

[59] The Lacey Act protects plants and wildlife by creating civil and criminal penalties for various violations, including transferring invasive species across state borders.

"[60] Sessions drew controversy in 2016 when he asserted that the site of the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, the scene of a terrorist mass shooting, was not a gay club.

The comments were described as an allusion to the phrase "White Men Can't Jump", and were called inappropriate by New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell.

"[75] In early February 2009, Sessions made the following comment about the Republican Party legislative strategy in the House of Representatives: "Insurgency, we understand perhaps a little bit more because of the Taliban.

"[78] In January 2012, it was reported that Sessions received a so-called "VIP" or "Friends of Angelo" loan in 2007 from troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial, which was granted at a lower interest rate than was available to the public.

Former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo created the program to boost the company's standing with politicians, celebrities and well-connected business figures.

His name and those of other legislators who received similar loans subsequently appeared in a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's ethics investigation into improper gifts.

[79][80] He was cleared of any wrongdoing by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform when its investigation found he did not receive any preferential treatment or a below-market interest rate on his mortgage from Countrywide.

[83] On October 10, 2019, the Texas Tribune, among other news outlets, reported that Sessions was identifiable as "Congressman-1"[84] in an indictment by the Southern District of New York charging Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman with illegal campaign contributions aimed at removing former U.S.

In 2018, after meeting with Parnas and Fruman, Sessions authored a letter in his capacity as House Rules Committee chair calling for Yovanovitch's removal.

[85][84] On October 15, The Washington Post reported that the grand jury investigating the matter had issued subpoenas to Sessions, with which his spokesperson said he would cooperate.

[87] In August 2012, Sessions married Karen Diebel, a 2010 congressional candidate in Florida[89] and a first Trump administration appointee to the Millennium Challenge Corporation.