President Donald Trump has been notably vocal, both in private and in public, about firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions this month, prompting a split reaction among GOP senators. Some hint at their personal resignation about the culmination of a hatred Trump has been fostering since Sessions’ recusal from the Russia probe; others schedule pep talk breakfasts with Sessions to bolster his spirits and make sure he doesn’t quit.
According to a Tuesday Washington Post report, Trump has brought up the possibility of firing Sessions to his lawyers and aides who have, for now, convinced him to hold off until the midterm elections.
But throughout the halls of the Capitol, many Republican senators seem tired of encouraging Trump to muddle through with an attorney general he despises.
“We wish the best for him, but as any administration would show, Cabinet members seldom last the entire administration, and this is clearly not an exception,” Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) reportedly said Tuesday.
“My sense is, the fix is in,” added Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN).
A senior White House official told the Washington Post that the most they can hope for is to delay the firing and spare the party electoral damage during the midterms, but that Sessions’ ouster is inevitable at this point.
But some Republican senators haven’t given up on the embattled attorney general yet.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has remained unwavering in his support for Sessions. He said Tuesday that he has “total confidence in the attorney general” and that “he should stay exactly where he is.”
Other senators, according to a Tuesday Wall Street Journal report, held a breakfast to lift Sessions’ spirits over bacon and eggs.
Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Ben Sasse (R-NE) and John Kennedy (R-LA) all encouraged Sessions to hang in there, at least until election day is over.
White House aides have reportedly tried to sway Trump on Sessions, bringing his attention to the attorney general’s crackdown on gangs and many other actions strictly in line with the Trump agenda, but the President is obstinate.
“He has a fixed view of people,” the White House aide told the Wall Street Journal.
