donald trump

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCx8tMBFhXg

This is my opinion, and not the representation of Saintel Daily, LLC.

There is never a dull moment with Donald Trump as President of the United States of America.  Most recently, he is considering firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions.  But this won’t happen until after the midterm elections if it does.  What’s interesting about Trump in this scenario is that he feels that the Attorney General needs to protect him at all cost.  But is that the true role of the Attorney General?  He has indicated that Eric Holder did a good job of “protecting” President Obama when there were “real” problems.  To which, I can only ask two questions – are Trump’s problems not real?  And who is out there who could protect Trump in the way that he feels he should be protected?  I would hazard a guess that not many people want that job.

But that’s not the stance of the Senate.  Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said any new nominee must pledge to protect the Mueller investigation, and that it would help if that person were “somebody from the body or someone who has had experience … or somebody you know personally, you know what you’re getting.” Is Graham going to do it?  Many believe that, but he says that he’s content being a senator.  And maybe he is.  While my previous question was around who out there could protect Trump, there’s also the question of who would want the job in the first place?

Another potential candidate is Majority Whip John Cornyn from Texas (think Frank Underwood, Season 1, House of Cards).  But he doesn’t want the job either. With few obvious potential applicants for a job that seems to come with built-in clashes with the president, some senators even suggest Trump might have to nominate a Democrat to have any hope of getting a new attorney general confirmed.  That will certainly protect the Mueller investigation, but it won’t necessarily help Trump in the long run.

A Republican Senator has indicated that whoever Trump nominates as Attorney General would have to have an extremely clean record of praise for Trump. It’s estimated that maybe four members of the Senate would qualify.  So who would he even choose?  The problem is – he has to choose someone sooner than later as the Senate is in a situation of lame duck right now.  If the Republicans lose the Senate majority, it will be even more difficult to confirm an Attorney General, and some might argue, downright impossible.

On the other hand, more optimistic Republicans are saying that the cloud may lift after the election, especially if Mueller’s investigation concludes. Many Republicans are worried about the politics of confirming a new attorney general amid the sensitive probe. Trump is in a bad place right now as the administrator role with the Environmental Protection Agency is being filled by an acting leader.  Mostly because the Senate GOP isn’t confident that they can confirm a successor – and much for the same reason as the Attorney General role – who actually wants the job?

One thought on “Can Donald Trump Find a New Attorney General Before the Midterms?”

Comments are closed.