Peace as Trump backs ‘embattled’ team members
WASHINGTON: Peace may have finally broken out in the White House, with US President Donald Trump publicly expressing support for two senior members of his team who had seemed in imminent danger of being ousted.
Attorney general Jeff Sessions and national security adviser Gen HR McMaster are safe, it seems, at least till his next Twitter-rage.
“After many years of LEAKS going on in Washington, it is great to see the A.G. taking action! For National Security, the tougher the better!” Trump tweeted on Saturday, referring to Sessions whom he had earlier publicly criticised and mocked as “beleaguered”.
The pat on the back for Sessions came after he announced that the justice department had “tripled the number of active leak investigations” and that it will be deploying more resources to tracking down leakers. The department may even consider issuing subpoenas to journalists.
Trump has been very angry with Sessions for recusing himself from the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 elections and holds him responsible for the eventual appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller, who may end up probing Trump’s past business dealings.
The previous day, Trump expressed support for McMaster, saying, “Gen McMaster and I are working very well together. He is a good man and very pro-Israel. I am grateful for the work he continues to do serving our country.”
McMaster has had serious policy differences on some key national security issues. He has been targeted by the “nationalist” faction of the White House led by Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon and his allies outside.