White House staff are now hiding Jeff Sessions from Trump
President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have learned the hard way that breakups are rough.
Ever since Sessions recused himself from overseeing the investigation into whether Trump's campaign was involved with Russian interference in the 2016 election, things have been awkward. Trump is publicly criticizing him for letting the investigation drag on, while Sessions obliquely sucks up to his boss with thinly-veiled attempts to stay on the #MAGA train.
Despite Sessions' best effort to stay out of Trump's voluminous hair, the two can't avoid each other at Cabinet meetings — but they can try. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that White House staffers seat Sessions strategically during meetings, hoping to keep him out of Trump's line of sight.
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The attorney general rarely speaks directly with Trump, sources told the Journal. Trump sees Sessions as "the catalyst" for all the headaches the Russia investigation has created for the administration, an official said. Perhaps officially severing his previously strong ties with Sessions, it appears Trump has a new BFF in the Justice Department: He has begun embracing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, calling their relationship "fantastic."
Sessions might benefit from a lesson from former FBI Director James Comey, who once hid in the Oval Office curtains to avoid Trump — once the president starts angrily tweeting about you, it's all over.
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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.
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