Sessions reportedly to announce bid for old Senate seat
WASHINGTON » Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions will announce that he is entering the race for his old U.S. Senate seat in Alabama, two Republicans with direct knowledge of his plans said Wednesday.
Sessions, 72, will be making a return to the political stage a year after stepping down as President Donald Trump’s first attorney general when their relationship soured over his recusal from the Russia investigation.
The two Republicans confirmed to The Associated Press that Sessions is expected to announce his candidacy today. They were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. They said Sessions has not spoken to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell about it, nor has he informed Trump of his decision.
The longtime senator’s candidacy upends the 2020 Republican primary, which has a crowded field competing to challenge Democratic
Sen. Doug Jones for the once reliably red seat.
Some GOP primary rivals wasted no time going on the offensive.
Former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville said Sessions has been “out of the swamp for less than two years, and now he’s itching to go back.”
“He’s another career politician that the voters of Alabama will reject. As Attorney General, he failed the President at his point of greatest need,” Tuberville said in a statement.
Sessions was the first U.S. senator to endorse Trump’s 2016 campaign.