Attorney general nominee William Barr said on Tuesday that he had no intention of firing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein immediately, and that he’d asked Rosenstein to stay on the job, at least for now.
“The President said that the decision on the deputy was mine, anything I wanted to do on the deputy was fine,” Barr told Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) during Barr’s confirmation hearing.
Barr said that he was in discussions with Rosenstein to gradually transition him out of the deputy attorney general role.
“Rod and I have been talking about his plans. He told me that he viewed it as a two-year stint, and would like to use, if I’m confirmed, my coming in as an occasion to leave.”
But, Barr continued, “we talked about the need for a transition, and I asked him if he would stay for a while, and he said he would. And so as of right now, I would say he has no concrete plans, I have no concrete plans, in terms of his departure.”
“We’re going to sort of play it by ear and see what makes sense,” Barr said.
Watch below:
Barr: "I asked [Rod Rosenstein] if he would stay for a while, and he said he would." pic.twitter.com/eKNpxcIBXY
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) January 15, 2019
