Republican lawmakers have been rallying around Attorney General Jeff Sessions this week, as Sessions weathers friendly fire from President Trump. Trump has criticized Sessions recently in a variety of ways — including on Twitter, from the White House Rose Garden, and in print — and many of Sessions' former colleagues on Capitol Hill have come to his defense.
But perhaps the strongest defense of Sessions came from fellow Alabama lawmaker Rep. Mo Brooks (R), who is running for the Alabama Senate seat Sessions vacated to become attorney general. Brooks released a lengthy statement Wednesday comparing Trump's treatment of Sessions to a "public waterboarding":
I cannot remain silent about the treatment Jeff Sessions is receiving from President Trump. If the president has reservations about Attorney General Jeff Sessions, that is okay. No two people agree all the time. But President Trump should raise his reservations with Attorney General Sessions privately, man to man, one on one, not publicly scorn a great man like this.
I support President Trump's policies, but this public waterboarding of one of the greatest people Alabama has ever produced is inappropriate and insulting to the people of Alabama who know Jeff Sessions so well and elected him so often by overwhelming margins. [Rep. Mo Brooks]
Brooks then offered Trump a deal: If he wants to fire Sessions, Brooks will withdraw from the Alabama Senate race if all of his Republican opponents agree to do so as well in order to pave the way for Sessions. Then, Brooks said, if Sessions were to leave Washington, the path would be cleared for him to return to the Senate, while Trump could replace Sessions at the Justice Department with whomever he wants.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"I recognize that President Trump is popular in Alabama," Brooks said. "My closest friends and political advisers have told me not to side with Jeff Sessions, that it will cost me politically to do so. My response is simple: I don't care."
The special election to fill Sessions' seat is Dec. 12. Read Brooks' full statement below. Kimberly Alters
-
Starbucks workers are planning their ‘biggest strike’ everThe Explainer The union said 92% of its members voted to strike
-
‘These wouldn’t be playgrounds for billionaires’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The 5 best nuclear war movies of all timeThe Week Recommends ‘A House of Dynamite’ reanimates a dormant cinematic genre for our new age of atomic insecurity
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
