October 30, 2019 | by Chris Cillizza and Lauren Dezenski

Will Donald Trump kill Jeff Sessions' Senate comeback?

Jeff Sessions left the Senate for President Donald Trump. He might not make it back for the same reason.

The former senator from Alabama is "strongly considering" getting into the crowded race for his old seat, according to Politico. Republicans lost the seat in a 2017 special election -- following Sessions' confirmation as Trump's attorney general -- when the party nominated the deeply flawed candidate Roy Moore.

Now, Sen. Doug Jones is, by far, Democrats' most vulnerable incumbent running in 2020 -- and a slew of Republicans (including Moore) are lining up for the chance to be their party's nominee. No one has yet distinguished themselves, however, which has raised some concerns that Moore could eke out the nomination again, and again cost Republicans a seat.

Which is where Sessions comes in -- sort of. See, Sessions held the seat easily from 1996 to 2017. But he also got sideways with Trump -- or, more accurately, Trump got sideways with him -- during his time as attorney general. Sessions was subject to regular berating by the President via Twitter, and was fired the day after the 2018 midterm elections.

That, according to Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Alabama), isn't something GOP primary voters are going to forget. "The President is very angry with Jeff," Byrne told The Washington Post this week. "I think the President will be very vocal against him. For Jeff's sake, I don't want that. But I think that's the reality of what he's facing." (Byrne told CNN's Manu Raju he has spoken with Sessions but refused to disclose what they talked about.)

Which is hugely self-serving -- given that Byrne is running in the primary and wants to be the Trump candidate. But it also might be true!

According to Gallup, Trump's job approval was 55% in Alabama for 2018 -- the seventh highest rating for Trump last year. (The six states where the President was more popular: West Virginia, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska and Mississippi.) And Trump carried Alabama by 28 points over Hillary Clinton in 2016.

To be clear: Trump hasn't said anything -- yet -- about the possibility of Sessions' Senate campaign. But if he does tweet something like, hypothetically, "Failed AG Jeff Sessions wants to come back to the Senate? I vote NO," it's hard to see how Sessions could overcome that with a Republican electorate as pro-Trump as the one in Alabama.

Sessions just has to hope then (probably against hope) that Trump ignores him if he decides to make a comeback bid.

The Point: Loyalty is a one-way street for Donald Trump. Jeff Sessions learned that the hard way once. He might have to relearn it in the coming months.

-- Chris

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"It doesn't get much more 'Top Gun' than that."

-- Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier of California on top US diplomat in Ukraine Bill Taylor's credibility, adding he is a "rock solid, detailed notetaker and unimpeachable." Taylor is willing to testify publicly in the impeachment probe.

FACT CHECK ✅

We're back with another Point-exclusive fact check with Holmes Lybrand on just what will happen on Thursday when the House votes on a resolution to proceed on the impeachment inquiry. Take it away, Holmes:

Q: What does the resolution actually do?

A: It is eight pages of rules and procedures for how this historic inquiry will proceed.

It mostly sets out how hearings in the House related to the impeachment inquiry will take place and establishes how evidence will be transferred to the Judiciary Committee. The Judiciary Committee will ultimately report articles of impeachment (or any other recommendations) to the full House.

After the likely passage of this resolution on Thursday, hearings will begin in public. Many House Republicans have expressed, in no uncertain terms, irritation that hearings are currently taking place behind closed doors, with only members of certain committees allowed in.

Another complaint from Republican lawmakers that the resolution addresses is that the impeachment inquiry was never voted on and is therefore -- supposedly -- illegitimate. (There's nothing in the Constitution supporting this line of argument.)

In her letter announcing the resolution on Monday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi clarified the House "is taking this step to eliminate any doubt as to "the legitimacy of the inquiry, undercutting the White House's arguments for withholding testimony and information."

CHRIS' GOOD READS

Twitter is stopping all political advertising on its site globally next month

The one and only Ben Terris on Politicon

Joe Biden: Human gaffe machine

An awesome interactive from Pew based on a simple question: Would you share your view on Donald Trump at a dinner party?

Why John Bolton isn't likely to be the impeachment hero many liberals want him to be

Can photojournalists be objective?

Not possible for me to be more excited about this

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

Beach Slang is probably the best band you've never heard of. Here's their new one "Bam Rang Rang."

A WORLD SERIES WAGER

Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Ted Cruz of Texas have a friendly wager on tonight's seventh World Series game between the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros.

Should the Astros win, Kaine must wear Astros gear and serve Cruz's staff Chesapeake crabcakes and Catoctin whiskey.

And if the Nationals win, Cruz must don Nationals gear and serve Kaine's staff Texas barbecue and Shiner beer.

LAUREN'S CAMPAIGN TRAIL LATEST

Kamala Harris: Plans to cut staff and restructure her campaign, reducing her headquarters staff and deploying "many field staff" to Iowa, according to a campaign memo.

Elizabeth Warren: Says she will have a plan to talk about "what the cost is" and a plan to talk about how we can pay for "Medicare for All."

Tulsi Gabbard: Is now just one poll away from qualifying for the November debate, thanks to a new USA Today/Suffolk University poll.

ONE BIG MONDAY

The number of false claims Trump made in one day (31 of which happened during a rambling Cabinet meeting, and the other 22 in an interview with Sean Hannity).

We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris Cillizza and Lauren Dezenski. Follow Chris and Lauren on Twitter.

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