Trump reportedly spoke with Sessions' chief of staff about replacing the attorney general

Jeff Sessions.
(Image credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

During a recent meeting, President Trump spoke with Attorney General Jeff Sessions' chief of staff about replacing his boss, several people with knowledge of the discussion told The Washington Post on Wednesday.

Trump met with the chief of staff, Matt Whitaker, after The New York Times reported last month that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein suggested wearing a wire to monitor Trump; people close to Rosenstein said he was not being serious. The White House was interested in having Whitaker replace Rosenstein as acting deputy attorney general, and the conversation moved on to him taking over for Sessions, the Post reports. It wasn't clear if Trump wanted Whitaker to become the official nominee to replace Sessions, or if it would just be temporary. The plan was ultimately dropped, with Trump saying he does not want to remove Rosenstein.

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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.