Trump's firing of Rosenstein and Sessions is reportedly imminent


President Trump was reportedly so enraged by an FBI raid of his personal attorney's office and hotel that he is now on the brink of firing Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general he appointed, as well as Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
"It's a matter of when, not if," an anonymous person who has been in talks with Trump this week told The Wall Street Journal.
Investigators seized files from Michael Cohen, Trump's longtime attorney, on Monday. The raid was conducted by Manhattan law enforcement, but was based on a referral from Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and whether the Trump campaign was involved. Rosenstein is overseeing the special counsel investigation.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Cohen raid indicated that Mueller's investigation is encroaching on Trump's inner circle, which reportedly angered the president greatly. It was "not good for the long-term relationship between the president and Sessions and Rosenstein," a source told the Journal.
The White House is reportedly seeking to build a case for the firing of Rosenstein and has asked allies outside of the administration to publicly attack the deputy attorney general and Mueller's probe. Trump's advisers have warned him that firing Rosenstein would be extremely risky and could cause a constitutional crisis. But the Journal's sources say Trump wants the top Justice Department officials gone anyway: "Eventually, it will happen," a source said.
Read more at The Wall Street Journal.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
-
Why Turkey's Kurdish insurgents are laying down their arms
Under the Radar The PKK said its aims can now be 'resolved through democratic politics'
-
Book reviews: 'Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves' and 'Notes to John'
Feature The aughts' toxic pop culture and Joan Didion's most private pages
-
The FDA plans to embrace AI agencywide
In the Spotlight Rumors are swirling about a bespoke AI chatbot being developed for the FDA by OpenAI
-
Hamas frees US hostage in deal sidelining Israel
speed read Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier, was the final living US citizen held by the militant group
-
White Afrikaners land in US as Trump-declared refugees
speed read An exception was made to Trump's near-total ban on admitting refugees for the white South Africans
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideast
speed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members