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.
"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