Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been telling people recently he has no interest becoming an Alabama senator again, a Justice Department official told The Daily Caller Monday.
Alabama Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore has faced multiple accusations from women that he pursued them romantically when Moore was in his thirties and they were teenagers. This has led to Republican establishment figures, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to call for Moore to step aside.
The New York Times reported Monday that if Moore stays in and wins, Senate Republicans could move to expel him from the chamber.
“One idea now being discussed under this scenario, brought up by two different White House officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, would be for Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama to immediately appoint Attorney General Jeff Sessions to what had been his seat when it becomes vacant again,” the Times reported. “Mr. Sessions remains highly popular among Alabama Republicans, but his relationship with President Trump has waned since he recused himself from the investigation of the role that Russia played in last year’s campaign.”
However, the DOJ official and another source close to Sessions both shot down the idea that the attorney general wants to return to his Senate seat.
Sessions stepping down from his post would also force the White House to go through another Senate confirmation process. Trump has publicly criticized the attorney general several times, but Sessions has refused to resign.
Sessions “just intends to do his job and enforce the law,” one source close to the attorney general told TheDC in July.