[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 180 (Monday, November 6, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7013-S7014]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO PEGGI HANRAHAN

  Mr. STRANGE. Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute to an 
Alabamian who has spent more than two decades in public service, Peggi 
Hanrahan.
  Many people in Washington, DC, know Peggi as the executive assistant 
and gatekeeper to the former Alabama Senator, Jeff Sessions, who is now 
the U.S. Attorney General. For more than 20 years, Jeff Sessions has 
been a strong leader on the issues of legal reform and immigration. In 
order to speak with Jeff Sessions on any issue, you had to go through 
Peggi.
  Peggi has earned praise from the countless people she has worked 
alongside throughout the years. Here are a few statements from her 
former colleagues.
  Attorney General Sessions stated:

       Peggi has been at the center of everything we have 
     accomplished in public service. She loves America and its 
     ideals, is smart, decisive, loyal, and a total professional. 
     She speaks up for the high principles she believes in, and 
     for two decades has been the key point of contact in our 
     office for thousands of Alabamians and Americans all over the 
     Country. She has provided invaluable service to me, the 
     Nation, and the so many who she trained and mentored. Though 
     we will miss her marvelous contributions, we wish her all the 
     best as she and Kevin embark on this next adventure.

  Kate Hollis, then-Senator Sessions' former scheduler, said the 
following:

       For 14 years I had the pleasure of working side by side 
     with Peggi for Senator Jeff Sessions. We were a great team 
     and became great friends during that time. I can attest that 
     she was one of the hardest working people in the United 
     States Senate who always went the extra mile to assist 
     Senator Sessions and our staff, as well as our constituents 
     from the great State of Alabama.

  Pete Landrum, former military legislative assistant under former 
Senator Sessions, stated:

       Peggi Hanrahan is a great colleague and friend. She is a 
     person that can be depended on when things are good or when 
     things are bad--it doesn't matter.

  Danielle Cutrona, counselor to the Attorney General, said:

       Peggi is an institution in our office. Her loyalty and 
     dedication to then-Senator, now Attorney General Sessions and 
     to his staff has been unwavering. I am grateful to have had 
     the opportunity to work with Peggi all these years and will 
     miss her tremendously.

  Michael Brumas, former press secretary for Senator Sessions, said:

       The phrase `best in the business' certainly applies to 
     Peggi Hanrahan, who served for more than two decades as Jeff 
     Sessions' executive assistant, first in the Senate and then 
     at the Department of Justice. In many ways Peggi was the 
     backbone of the Senate office, with a knack for solving those 
     administrative dilemmas that always crop up in a busy Senate 
     office as well making sure the senator stuck to his active 
     schedule--not always an easy task.

  Senator Sessions' first chief of staff in the Senate, Armand DeKyser, 
said the following:

       From the earliest days of Senator Sessions' tenure when 
     Peggi began sitting just outside Jeff's transition office, 
     she never was more than 20 feet from his desk. She was THE 
     constant among all the many staff that worked for Senator and 
     now Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Her calm demeanor 
     combined with a wonderful work ethic are so very vital to the 
     successful operation of a complex staff operation. She was 
     composed, efficient and trustworthy on the most harried of 
     days--a presidential inauguration, a swearing-in, or even the 
     fateful 9/11 day. Even on a normal day--if there is ever one 
     of those--Peggi's demonstrated support both up and down the 
     ladder of responsibility was one of her best traits and one 
     most admired by all.

  Alan Hanson, now Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, said:

       Peggi Hanrahan is a national treasure. She is both a 
     trusted confidante and an invaluable colleague. While she 
     will be sorely missed by all of us, her retirement is both 
     hard earned and well deserved.

  Paige Hanson, a former Sessions staffer, said:

       While I know the Attorney General will miss the benefit of 
     having Peggi around, we are truly happy for her and grateful 
     for her service and friendship.

  Stephen Boyd, former communications director for Senator Sessions and 
now Assistant Attorney General, said:

       It is difficult to overstate the important role that Peggi 
     played for all those years in the Senate office. If things 
     got done, it was usually because Peggi made it happen. Her 
     service to then-Senator and now Attorney General Sessions, 
     the Senate, and to the people of Alabama has been tremendous. 
     She is one of many who asked not for recognition

[[Page S7014]]

     or public appreciation, but only for the opportunity to serve 
     her country alongside a leader she respected. It was a 
     pleasure to work with her for many years, and I certainly 
     hope that she enjoys the retirement that she has clearly 
     earned.

  Finally, Rick Dearborn, Senator Sessions' longtime chief of staff and 
now White House Deputy Chief of Staff, said:

       Peggi Hanrahan was an extraordinary member of Senator 
     Sessions' former Senate staff. She is part schoolmarm, part 
     drill sergeant, with a pinch of traffic cop and a spoonful of 
     soft marshmallows all rolled into one. Indispensable in the 
     Senator's office, Peggi made it all run. She organized the 
     Senator's office, our lives, his life, kept up with all our 
     constituents and friends back home, both with personal notes 
     she and the Senator would spend significant time on and 
     checkup calls. She'd place those calls with his good friends 
     back home, often early in the morning and after hours. She 
     was, along with Kate Hollis, the Senator's scheduler, the 
     glue that held us all together. It would have been impossible 
     to manage the Senator's office without her. She was my Senate 
     colleague, my teammate, and continues to be my very dear 
     friend. I wish her and her husband Kevin the absolute best as 
     they enter the next chapter of their lives, separate from the 
     two institutions they served so well, the Senate and the 
     House.

  On behalf of the people of Alabama, I want to join all of those who 
are wishing Peggi and Kevin a very happy retirement.

                          ____________________