2 top GOP senators think Jeff Sessions will be gone in a few months, and they're apparently fine with it
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) think Attorney General Jeff Sessions is on his way out — and they seem ready to replace him.
Amid President Trump's escalating frustration with Sessions, Graham told reporters Thursday it's time for a "fresh voice" to lead the Justice Department, Bloomberg reports. Judiciary Committee chair Grassley seems to agree, also saying Thursday that he'll make time for the committee to hear new nominees for attorney general. It all could reportedly go down as soon as the midterm elections are over.
The two senators' comments come as Trump and Sessions' longstanding feud — which dates back to Sessions' recusal from the Justice Department's probe into Russian election meddling, eventually leading to Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey and the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller — comes to a head. It's gotten so bad that White House staffers reportedly have to hide Sessions from Trump's line of sight at Cabinet meetings. Trump has also insulted Sessions on Twitter and on TV for months, and Sessions finally opted to defend his honor with a formal statement on Thursday.
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A year ago, Graham said "there will be holy hell to pay" if Trump ousted Sessions, who served for years as a senator alongside Graham and Grassley. But now, it's obvious "Sessions doesn't have the confidence of the president," Graham said, and "the president's entitled to an attorney general he has faith in."
Of course, if Trump canned Sessions and successfully replaced him with an AG who wouldn't have to recuse himself, it could help the president curb Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe. But plenty of Republicans clearly think this is a bad idea. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), for one, declared that firing Sessions "would be bad for the country, it would be bad for the president, [and] it would be bad for the Department of Justice for him to be forced out under these circumstances."
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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
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