President Trump is mulling over the possibility of appointing a new attorney general while the Senate is away on recess if Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Trump has discussed the idea with confidants and advisers. But the president has also reportedly been warned not to fire Sessions, because of the backlash it would potentially spark.
While two sources told the Post that Trump was not crafting a strategy for Sessions’s removal, others said that they see the president’s considerations as more serious and that a recess appointment is a real possibility.
{mosads}Trump has publicly disparaged Sessions over the past week, questioning his credibility in tweets and telling The New York Times in an interview last week that he would have picked someone else to head the Justice Department had he known that Sessions would recuse himself from the Russia investigation.
Some Democrats in the Senate, wary that Trump could try to make a recess appointment, have begun exploring maneuvers to prevent such action.