Sen. Christopher Coons (D-Del.) Wednesday urged a vote on a bill he’s co-sponsored to protect special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired by President Trump, citing the White House’s unpredictable nature as a reason for his urgency.
“This is the easiest way possible to prevent an entirely predictable constitutional crisis,” he said.
“When I press my friends who are Republican senators and leaders and say, ‘What would we do if he were to abruptly fire Robert Mueller,’ they say, ‘well, it’s not going to happen.’ ” Coons said. “This is a simple step. … We could take up and pass this bill in a few minutes this afternoon and I’m confident it would get 60 votes.”{mosads}
Coons will join Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) on the Senate floor to try to force a vote on their bill to protect Mueller.
Flake has threatened to vote against any judicial nominee put forth in the lame-duck Senate session until the bill is voted on, giving Republicans no margin for error in their current 51-49 majority in the Senate and 11-10 majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee, on which Flake sits.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) on Tuesday said that GOP lawmakers were exploring the possibility of a vote on the bill. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has opposed bringing the measure to the floor for a vote.
“We’re whipping that to see where people are. I think the leader needs that information to decide how to manage all the competing demands on our time,” Cornyn said when asked about discussions within the Republican caucus about the legislation.
Cornyn added Republicans were willing to hold a vote on the legislation “if that’s what it’s going to take” to move nominees.
In addition to Flake, several Republican senators, including Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Thom Tillis (N.C.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Chuck Grassley (Iowa), support giving the legislation a vote on the Senate floor.
Coons also mentioned acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker’s past comments criticizing Mueller as another reason to vote on the bill.
“A number of senators of both parties have privately agreed that Whitaker is a less reliable supervisor and may well stumble into interfering with the Mueller investigation or may do it intentionally,” he said.
Whitaker will replace Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in overseeing the probe and has made several comments in the past that were critical of the inquiry.
He touted in a 2017 interview that there was “no collusion” between the Trump campaign and Russia, adopting a favorite line from the president and undercutting the reason Mueller was appointed. He also said in 2014 that the courts were intended to be the “inferior” branch of government.
He wrote an op-ed for The Hill in May 2017 criticizing the idea of appointing a special counsel for the DOJ’s investigation.
“Serious, bipartisan congressional investigations into the Russian allegations have been under way for weeks and they have made progress. Hollow calls for independent prosecutors are just craven attempts to score cheap political points and serve the public in no measurable way,” he wrote.
His past comments led several high-profile Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) and current House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) too call for his recusal.