Jeff Sessions said Tuesday he has no regrets about leaving the U.S. Senate to serve as President Trump’s first attorney general despite spending most of his tenure defending himself against personal attacks from the president.
“No, you don’t regret things like that,” Mr. Sessions said in an interview with radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt.
“I did what I thought was right. We did so many good things as attorney general. I’m so proud of the team, what we accomplished, the help we gave the president to pick judges, the defending of religious liberty, the reduction of regulations and a reversal of a surge in crime,” he continued.
Mr. Sessions is locked in a heated battle for his old Senate seat with former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville. A runoff primary is set for July 14.
Mr. Sessions was the first sitting senator to endorse then-candidate Trump in 2016. He was then appointed attorney general in February 2017, leaving the Senate seat he held for more than 20 years.
But the relationship quickly devolved after Mr. Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation in early 2017, leading to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller.
Mr. Trump never forgave his attorney general and still harbors a grudge. The president has only endorsed one candidate so far — Mr. Tuberville.
During his tenure as attorney general, Mr. Sessions was lambasted by the president as “weak,” “ineffective,” and “mixed up and confused.” The president, at one point, claimed he didn’t have an attorney general.
Ultimately, Mr. Sessions was ousted in November 2018 at Mr. Trump’s request.
Still, Mr. Sessions said he “absolutely” can work with the president despite the long-running feud.
“President Trump has been strong on China,” he told Mr. Hewitt. “We talked about it during the campaign. Really would love to work with him on that. And of course immigration, on trade, and other issues that a lot of the Republicans have been dragging their feet on and not being sufficiently supportive of the president.”
“I’ll be his ally. I’ll be his advocate. I think we’ll be able to work together nicely,” he continued.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.