Despite President Donald Trump constantly berating him on Twitter and in public, which stirred former Senate colleague Lindsey Graham to threaten the administration, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has gone about his business. Sure, he thinks the president’s comments are “kind of hurtful,” but neither their content nor their frequency have deterred the former Alabama senator from pursuing new initiatives at the Justice Department. With the somewhat calming arrival of John Kelly as Trump’s new chief of staff, however, it seems Sessions no longer has anything to worry about.
According to the Associated Press, the former Homeland Security Secretary called Sessions on Saturday to “reassure him that his position was safe” despite their boss’s tweeted and spoken tantrums. Politico later confirmed the AP report after speaking with additional administration officials who were familiar with the content of Kelly and Sessions’ telephone conversation. Trump remains disappointed in Sessions, who formally recused himself from all things Russia in March, thereby setting the stage of Robert Mueller’s appointment as special prosecutor. The president subsequently ridiculed Sessions as being “very weak.”
With Kelly taking the initiative and assuring the attorney general of his job security, however, White House officials who spoke with the AP and Politico suggest the new chief of staff sees himself as “empowered.” Even so, they warn, Trump could ultimately change his mind and decide fire Sessions (who refuses to resign) and, if he doesn’t get his way, Kelly.
(Via Associated Press and Politico)