Written by Don Byrd

In questioning by the Senate Judiciary Committee during an oversight hearing, Attorney General Jeff Sessions was asked about the implications of new Justice Department guidance on federal religious liberty law he issued earlier this month. Perhaps most importantly, he was asked whether federal contractors with religious objections would be permitted to discriminate in providing services.

As the Washington Post reports, Sessions deferred, saying only that he was “not sure that is covered by it, but I will look.”

Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) also asked whether an employee of the Social Security Administration with a religious objection to same-sex marriage would be allowed, under the new guidelines, “to refuse to process spousal or survivor benefits paperwork.” Sessions could not provide an answer, saying “that is something I have never thought would arise,” adding that he would have to follow up with a written answer to the Senator’s query.

You can watch Sessions’ entire testimony at C-Span here