Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Photo: Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Attorney General Jeff Sessions told White House counsel Don McGahn last weekend that if Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was fired, he "would have to consider leaving," according to the Washington Post. Axios has not yet confirmed the story.
Why it matters: Rosenstein has come under fire in recent weeks by conservative groups, and there has been speculation that he would be the next to get the boot from Trump. As Axios' Jonathan Swan reported, the problem with Rosenstein is, "[t]hey don't have a clean way to get rid of him."
Per the Post, Sessions following Rosenstein out the door "underscores the political firestorm that Trump would invite" by following through with firing him.
- A person familiar with the call between Sessions and McGahn told the Post that "Sessions did not intend to threaten the White House but rather wanted to convey the untenable position that Rosenstein's firing would put him in."