Trump reportedly mulling a recess appointment for new attorney general

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Yuri Gripas/AFP/Getty Images)

President Trump, still upset with Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the Department of Justice's Russia investigation, has been talking with his close advisers about possibly replacing Sessions through a recess appointment next month if Sessions resigns, four people briefed on the discussions told The Washington Post Wednesday.

Trump has been raging at Sessions in interviews, on Twitter, and at White House events, and some advisers say he wants Sessions to resign rather than be fired, setting up a clear need for a replacement. Trump has been watching several news programs that have discussed a recess appointment, the Post reports, and that's how the seed was planted. Because Trump often changes his mind on things throughout the day, and also floats ideas and hypothetical situations, some advisers told the Post they think he's not really contemplating making a recess appointment, and is only venting about his frustration with Sessions.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.