| | | | Is there life after Donald Trump for Jeff Sessions? |  | | Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions will formally enter the race for the Senate seat he left almost three years ago to serve as the top cop in the Trump administration.
In so doing, he'll also be trying to do something we haven't seen in this presidency yet: a former administration official, who has fallen out with the President, trying to write a new chapter in his political life by appealing to the very voters who made Donald Trump President.
We've seen second acts from the likes of Anthony Scaramucci and Michael Cohen, former Trump confidants who have turned on the President and built a following that way. But we've yet to see someone like Sessions, a celebrated conservative prior to his association with Trump, try to make a comeback in a space where the President still reigns supreme.
To win the Republican nomination -- and the right to challenge Sen. Doug Jones (D), who won the special election to replace him back in 2017 -- Sessions will need conservatives in the state to vote for him. Which, if Trump had never existed, wouldn't be a problem. After all, Sessions, who was elected to the Senate in 1996 and easily reelected three times, regularly scored as one of the most conservative lawmakers in the chamber.
It was Sessions' outspoken and hard-line views on immigration that initially attracted Trump the candidate to him -- and vice versa. Sessions was one of the earliest congressional endorsers of Trump and one of his most active surrogates. The duo's closeness explains why Sessions wound up as attorney general, one of the most powerful posts in the Cabinet, when Trump won in 2016.
And then the Russia investigation happened. And Sessions recused himself because he had been such a high-profile campaign surrogate for Trump and didn't want the investigation tainted. And Trump turned on Sessions in a very public way, laying the blame for the entire special counsel investigation at the AG's feet. And he fired Sessions the day after the 2018 election, after more than a year of public bullying and berating. And then Sessions disappeared.
Until now. As The New York Times put it in its writeup of Sessions' Senate plans:
"Mr. Sessions had been chewing on the idea of returning to the Senate for several months, making clear to allies and advisers that he was pained at the possibility that his final act in public life could be his contentious 21-month tenure at the Justice Department."
Sessions' decision to go forward with his Senate candidacy is a bold move for a man who developed a reputation for quiet submissiveness during Trump's regular public tirades against him. What Sessions is doing with this candidacy is daring Trump, who has been silent about his former AG since firing him, to speak out publicly -- and betting that Trump won't do it.
The race is further complicated by the fact that, of the announced candidates, Sessions would likely have the best chance of knocking off Jones if he could make it through the primary. And that Roy Moore, the hugely controversial Republican who lost to Jones following allegations of sexual assault and molestation against him, is also in the race.
The Point: Sessions is playing a game of chicken with Trump, hoping he will have the chance to write his own ending to his political career. If past is prologue, Trump rarely lets anyone have the last word.
-- Chris | | "I think he can come back in other ways besides running for office."
-- Presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar on former Sen. Al Franken, who resigned in 2017 following allegations he had groped women | | |
A POSSIBLE TIMELINE FOR IMPEACHMENT | | It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ... will be around the time the House will hold a full vote on impeachment.*
In a series of moves this week, House Democrats have shown that they're on a fast track in their impeachment inquiry.
The possible schedule for the next six weeks (November 11-December 16) is now looking like: - Public hearings with three witnesses scheduled for next week
- Followed by another week of public hearings
- Recess for Thanksgiving week, allowing the three House committees time to finish a report detailing their findings
- A House Judiciary Committee public hearing in early December
- A committee vote on articles of impeachment in the first or second week of December
- If this timeline is followed, a full House vote on impeachment will be the week of December 16 -- the last week before Christmas
*One thing to note: Democratic sources tell CNN the timing is still fluid. | | Trump and his allies are dominating digital spending
The Blue Wall Voices project sounds super interesting ...
The Hollywood primary!
And the Met gala theme is ...
Overwhelmed by all the streaming services available? Here's a helpful guide
RIP, the rude press
Mayor Pete's campaign diet | | | While Frank Ocean and Tyler, the Creator are the most famous members of Odd Future, Earl Sweatshirt has always been Chris' favorite. Check out Earl's new (and short) album, "Feet of Clay." And do yourself a favor and watch Odd Future do "Oldie." | | 2020 TURNOUT COULD BE MASSIVE | |  | 2020 US presidential election could have record turnout ... here's why | | In this episode, Chris explains how the trends we've seen since the 2016 election are leading to potential record-breaking voter turnout in 2020.
And don't forget to subscribe to The Point on YouTube! | |
YOUR CAMPAIGN TRAIL LATEST | | Tom Steyer: Is facing criticism over an Associated Press report that one of his top aides allegedly offered money to Iowa politicians in exchange for endorsements. The aide has apologized "for any miscommunication on my part."
Mike Pence: Filed paperwork for Trump and him to be on the New Hampshire ballot.
Andrew Yang: Launched first TV ad in Iowa with $1 million buy.
Elizabeth Warren: Was endorsed by Black Womxn For, a group of more than 100 black female activists. In other news, Warren said she prefers DaBaby over Snoop Dogg, and Megan Thee Stallion over Lizzo.
Bernie Sanders: Released his comprehensive immigration plan, which includes a moratorium on deportations, an end to ICE raids and a halt to construction of Trump's border wall. | | | 50
Trump made 50 false claims last week — 13 of them related to Democrats' Ukraine-centric impeachment inquiry, according to a CNN tally. | | | | | | |
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