REPLACING SESSIONS--President Donald Trump is considering appointing Rudolph Giuliani, a former New York City mayor, to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions as head of the Department of Justice (DOJ), White House officials told Axios.
The news follows Trump's sharp criticism of Sessions in a wide-ranging New York Times interview published last week. Trump told Times reporters he never would have appointed Sessions to head the DOJ had he known Sessions would recuse himself from the Russia investigation, and on Monday Trump asked on social media why the "beleaguered A.G." wasn't investigating Hillary Clinton.
Giuliani was one of Trump's earliest and most vocal supporters, which could make it difficult to get 50 senators to vote for his confirmation. "[H]e wouldn't be seen as an independent guardian of the department in these tumultuous times," Axios reports. Sessions, however, was also a stalwart of Trump's campaign, and he was confirmed by a vote of 52-47.
(Kate Wheeling is a staff writer at Pacific Standard, where she specializes in criminal justice and the environment. This piece was provided CityWatch by Pacific Standard.)
-cw
