Report: Despite Trump's criticism, Jeff Sessions has no plans to resign
President Trump's daily reminders to Attorney General Jeff Sessions that he is a disappointment aren't enough to get Sessions to step down from his position, The Washington Post reports.
Trump has been slamming Sessions in interviews — like telling The New York Times if he had known Sessions was going to recuse himself from the Russia investigation, he never would have picked him to be attorney general — and on Twitter, and even told reporters on Tuesday "time will tell" whether he fires Sessions. Despite Trump's digs, Sessions' chief of staff, Jody Hunt, told Reince Priebus, White House chief of staff, that the attorney general has no intention of resigning, and in fact, "plans to move forward with his agenda in the department," one person familiar with the exchange told the Post.
Priebus did not say that Trump is set on firing Session if he doesn't leave on his own, the person said, but the Post notes Trump could be holding back because he hasn't settled on a possible replacement (if Trump fired Sessions without having a temporary replacement waiting in the wings, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein would move into the position). There's still hope that Trump and Sessions will sit down and talk things through — one Republican told the Post that's what new communications director Anthony Scaramucci would like to see — but Trump hasn't warmed to the idea.
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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.
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