In a race that pitted two close friends against one another, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., has decided not to pursue the chairmanship of the Senate Budget Committee, leaving Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., as the panel’s new leader.

“My good friend Mike and I have been close since we both entered the Senate together 18 years ago. We will long remain good and close friends,” Sessions said in a prepared statement. “We have talked and I am deferring to his seniority so that he can lead the Budget Committee as chairman beginning in 2015.”

As Budget Committee chairman, Enzi will sit opposite of Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., the chairman of the House’s panel.

“I wish to congratulate Sen. Enzi on his upcoming chairmanship of the Senate Budget Committee,” Price said. “It will be an honor to work together as we address the tremendous fiscal and economic challenges facing our nation in a way that can achieve real, positive results for the American people.”

Sessions, who served as the committee’s ranking member, was seen as the likely choice to head the Budget panel. However, Enzi decided to mount an unexpected challenge.

The two, along with their wives, have long been friends, but they vowed not to let the race for Budget Committee chairman infringe on their close relationship.

>>> Old Friends Go Head-to-Head for Top Spot on Senate Budget Committee

Both were elected to the Senate in 1996. Neither Sessions nor Enzi had served in the House of Representatives or were governors before, so to determine seniority, they and other freshman pulled names from a hat.

Enzi, 70, had the luck of the draw, which gave him the standing to challenge Sessions, 67.

Though Sessions bowed out of the race to chair the Budget Committee, leaving Enzi as the only candidate, the committee will still vote in January.

In a separate statement, Enzi expressed support for his friend.

“Jeff is an outstanding leader and an outstanding speaker. If this were football, Jeff would be an all-star linebacker, corner, and safety all at the same time,” he said. “He is our first line of defense on many issues.”

“If this were football, @SenatorSessions would be an all-star linebacker, corner and safety all at the same time,” says @SenatorEnzi

Sessions will remain on the Budget Committee and plans to tackle welfare reform. The Alabama Republican will also work to eliminate wasteful spending — an issue previously tackled by retiring Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma.

“Mike is an accountant and small businessman who understands the need to balance budgets and tell the truth about the numbers,” Sessions said of Enzi. “He is a man of integrity and principle, respected by all of his Senate colleagues.”

Early reports suggested that Sessions’ outspoken comments on immigration put his future as Budget Committee chairman in jeopardy.

After President Obama announced his immigration executive actions, which would grant legal status to more than 5 million illegal immigrants, Sessions spoke out in fierce opposition.

>>> Where John McCain Stands on Thwarting Obama’s Amnesty