Trump revived idea of firing Sessions this month, sources say

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, who levied extraordinary public attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions in recent weeks, has privately revived the idea of firing him in conversations with his aides and personal lawyers this month, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

His attorneys concluded that they have persuaded him not to make such a move while the special counsel investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign is ongoing, the people said.

But there is growing evidence that Senate Republicans, who have long cautioned Trump against firing Sessions, are now resigned to the prospect that he may do so after the November midterm elections — a sign that one of the last remaining walls of opposition to such a move is crumbling.

“Nothing lasts forever,” Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., told the Washington Post, describing the Trump-Sessions dynamic as “a toxic relationship.”

Added Sen. Bob Corker, RTenn., a longtime defender of the attorney general: “My sense is the fix is in.”

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores declined to comment.

Trump’s latest threats illustrate the depths of his hostility toward one of his earliest political supporters, one who has carried out parts of the president’s agenda most popular with his base.

But Trump has repeatedly blasted Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia inquiry — a move that led to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s decision to appoint special counsel Robert Mueller last year.

If Sessions leaves the Justice Department and the Senate confirms a new attorney general, that person probably would assume oversight of the investigation — as well as the ability to determine what material from the inquiry is shared with Congress and the public.