GOP lawmaker involved in insurrection in talks with Trump to run for Senate in Alabama: report

On Thursday, CNN reported that Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) met with former President Donald Trump to discuss a possible run for Senate — and that he will announce his decision on Monday at a speaking event with former Trump adviser Stephen Miller.

"Brooks, a staunch conservative and one of Trump's closest congressional allies, was the first member of Congress to say publicly that he would object to the certification of the electoral votes for President Joe Biden," reported Daniella Diaz and Manu Raju. "The day before the January 6 rally, he tweeted that Trump had 'asked me personally to speak & tell the American people about the election system weaknesses that the Socialist Democrats exploited to steal this election.'"

Brooks also spoke at the rally just ahead of the riot — which he defended by saying that at least the Capitol insurrectionists weren't "20 or 30 al-Qaeda suicidal types." He is one of the defendants in a lawsuit surrounding the riot, that also includes Trump and Donald Trump Jr.

Alabama is facing an open Senate contest next year with the retirement of longtime Sen. Richard Shelby, who has been serving since 1986.

Senate races in the state are rarely competitive, barring the shocking 2017 win of Democrat Doug Jones in the special election to replace Jeff Sessions, after his opponent, former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, was accused of multiple counts of child molestation. Jones would later lose election for a full term in 2020.