Urged to seek his former U.S. Senate office

Alabama’s Jeff Session resigned as U.S. attorney general at President Donald Trump’s request yesterday.

Sessions is a former U.S. senator, a former Alabama attorney general, and former U.S. attorney.

The president’s chief of staff, John Kelley, actually asked for the resignation after the president spent months shaming Sessions – the first U.S. senator to support him in his campaign for the presidency – after Sessions recused himself in the Mueller probe. Sessions had carried out the president’s harsh stances on immigration.

“Since the day I was honored to be sworn in as attorney general of the United States, I came to work at the Department of Justice every day determined to do my duty and serve my country,” Sessions said in a seven-paragraph letter. “I have done so to the best of my ability to support the fundamental legal processes that are the foundation of justice.

“The team we assembled embraced your directive to be a law and order Department of Justice. We prosecuted the largest number of violent offenders and firearm defendants in our country’s history. We took transnational gangs that are bringing violence and death across our borders and protected national security. We did our part to restore immigration enforcement. We targeted the opioid epidemic by prosecuting doctors, pharmacists, and anyone else who contributes to this crisis with new law enforcement tools and determination. And we have seen results. After two years of rising violent crime and homicides prior to this administration, those trends have reversed–thanks to the hard work of our prosecutors and law enforcement around the country,” the letter stated.

“More importantly, in my time as Attorney General we have restored and upheld the rule of law–a glorious tradition that each of us has a responsibility to safeguard. We have operated with integrity and have lawfully and aggressively advanced the policy agenda of this administration,” Sessions wrote.

 Trump named Matthew Whitaker to serve as interim attorney general. Whitaker was Sessions’ chief of staff

Alabama leaders were quick to praise the former senator for his service, and one prominent Republican urged him to seek re-election to the U.S. Senate.

U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said, “Thank you to my good friend, Jeff Sessions, for over 40 years of noble service to Alabama and our country. Jeff was a respected colleague of mine in the Senate for two decades and represented our nation with honor as the U.S. Attorney General. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

Alabama Republican Party Chairman Terry Lathan said, “A man of integrity, Jeff Sessions has led the Department of Justice with dignity and a firm commitment to the rule of law. His reputation as a dedicated public servant precedes his many years of honorable service to our nation.”

“A true Alabama statesman, Jeff Sessions has been a warrior for President Trump’s conservative agenda,” Lathan said. “From enforcing our nation’s immigration laws, fighting opioid abuse to strongly supporting members of our law enforcement, Jeff Sessions has consistently made Alabama proud.”

In a tweet on Wednesday, former Alabama Attorney General and former U.S. Senator Luther Strange called for Sessions to run against Senator Doug Jones (D-Mountain Brook) in 2020.

Strange was appointed to Sessions’ former Senate seat after he became attorney general in February 2017. Jones currently occupies this senate seat after Strange was defeated by Roy lost to Moore in the special election’s Republican primary runoff, and Moore then lost to Jones in the December 2017 general election.