President Trump said he might endorse Jeff Sessions for the Alabama Senate seat after the former attorney general left the administration over a tumultuous relationship with Trump.
“He said very nice things about me last night. But, we’ll have to see,” the president told reporters Friday. “I haven’t made a determination.” When pressed again later about the Alabama race, Trump said there were lots of “very good candidates,” and the competition will be “tough” for Sessions.
Sessions confirmed Thursday that he would be running for his old Senate seat in Alabama, which is currently held by Sen. Doug Jones, who is a Democrat. “The president is doing a great job for America and Alabama, and he has my strong support,” Sessions said.
The Alabama Republican was one of the first major public officials to back Trump during his 2016. The president tapped him in 2017 to be his attorney general.
The two had a falling out after Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation paving the way for special counsel Robert Mueller. Trump blamed the “witch hunt” on Sessions, and he resigned as attorney general on Nov. 7, 2018.
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UPDATE:
Sessions campaign announced he had been endorsed by 11 U.S. senators including Sen. Richard Shelby, who is the senior senator from Alabama.
[Related: Sessions Senate bid would draw Trump White House opposition]
