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

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.

Trump has wanted to get rid of Sessions ever since the attorney general recused himself from the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, setting up the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Trump has dragged him publicly multiple times since, and recently announced, "I don't have an attorney general."

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