Illinois GOP congressman criticizes Trump for lack of 'loyalty' to former Attorney General Sessions

Jason Lalljee, USA TODAY
·2 min read

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., slammed President Donald Trump on Tuesday for his lack of "loyalty" to former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who lost his primary bid for the U.S. Senate in Alabama.

Trump endorsed Sessions' opponent, former football coach Tommy Tuberville, explicitly doing so as retaliation for Sessions' recusal during the investigation into Russian election interference.

"Jeff was the first elected official to support you," Kinzinger wrote on Twitter in response to Trump's congratulatory tweet to Tuberville. "Seems loyalty is expected from you but not granted."

Jeff Sessions was defeated in Alabama's primary election.
Jeff Sessions was defeated in Alabama's primary election.

Kinzinger has been critical of Trump throughout his presidency, especially in recent months. He told Fox News that the president could do a "better job" of reassuring the public amid the surge in COVID-19 cases this month. He called for Trump to protect U.S. troops in the wake of reports that Russia offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

Sessions was the first U.S. senator to endorse Trump for president in 2016 and publicly showed his support for him as early as 2015. Sessions' endorsement granted Trump's outsider campaign early legitimacy, giving him a boost before that year's Super Tuesday elections.

As attorney general, Sessions' goodwill with Trump ran out. Sessions' recusal from the Russia investigation led to Robert Mueller's appointment as special counsel and a nearly two-year investigation that shadowed Trump's early years in office. Trump was not charged.

Trump fired Sessions in 2018, and last year, he called Sessions' appointment as attorney general the "biggest mistake" of his presidency.

Trump campaigned against Sessions' bid for the seat he held for 20 years before becoming attorney general. In May, he told Sessions to drop out of the race. He blasted Sessions' campaign several times on Twitter over the past few months, posting on Saturday that Sessions was "a disaster who has let us all down. We don’t want him back in Washington!"

Sessions tweeted Saturday, "My honor and integrity are far more important than these juvenile insults." Sessions emphasized his early support of Trump throughout his reelection campaign, trying not to alienate Trump's strong base of supporters in the state.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump slammed for no loyalty to Jeff Sessions, who lost bid for Senate