White House Survivor

Maybe Mattis has been smoked out as Lodestar?

Mattis breaks his long media silence to write an op ed saying he is undermining the president? That seems hardly likely. In a career of being apolitical and working as SECDEF to keep the military apolitical that would be an odd move.

The author of that op ed works in communications. It's hard to imagine a career national security professional seeing that letter as a good idea. It diminishes the US further than the sitting president already has.
 
Oddly enough, with both Sessions and Rosenstein being on Trump's purge list, it seems that both their jobs are more secure than if only one of them was in the crosshairs: Trump would have to replace both at the same time, making it an ugly process even if Republicans keep the House - which they won't.
Trump might be well advised to stick to his current DoJ heads.
 
Mattis breaks his long media silence to write an op ed saying he is undermining the president? That seems hardly likely. In a career of being apolitical and working as SECDEF to keep the military apolitical that would be an odd move.

The author of that op ed works in communications. It's hard to imagine a career national security professional seeing that letter as a good idea. It diminishes the US further than the sitting president already has.
I agree. Lodestar is not one of the career politicians. They just don't work like that. I was just being snide about Mattis's steadying even-keeled approach and Trump's erratic and ultra-paranoiac responses to Lodestar.
 
Oddly enough, with both Sessions and Rosenstein being on Trump's purge list, it seems that both their jobs are more secure than if only one of them was in the crosshairs: Trump would have to replace both at the same time, making it an ugly process even if Republicans keep the House - which they won't.
Trump might be well advised to stick to his current DoJ heads.
Which means they will be fired probably after the mid-terms because they "failed to meet expectations".
 
Fired or resigned?

"It was not immediately clear whether he expected to be fired by Mr. Trump or whether he planned to resign. Justice Department officials said on Monday morning that he was on his way to the White House expecting to be fired. But over the weekend, Mr. Rosenstein called a White House official and said he was considering quitting, and a person close to the White House said he was resigning."

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/24/us/politics/rod-rosenstein-justice-department-trump.html
 
Fired or resigned?

"It was not immediately clear whether he expected to be fired by Mr. Trump or whether he planned to resign. Justice Department officials said on Monday morning that he was on his way to the White House expecting to be fired. But over the weekend, Mr. Rosenstein called a White House official and said he was considering quitting, and a person close to the White House said he was resigning."

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/24/us/politics/rod-rosenstein-justice-department-trump.html

It's the same thing that happened with Shulkin. White house leaks he resigned so they can use the vacancies act even though they actually fired him.
 
In the interim, Noel Francisco, Solicitor general, would take over and might actual try to wrap up the Mueller probe before the Elections.
 
I get the impression that neither the White House nor Rosenstein wants him to be in his current position. Rosenstein wants to be fired but the white house wants him to resign so they're stuck with each other.
 
And maybe neither!

"NEWS- per source familiar, rod rosenstein is still the deputy attorney general as of right now.

he had a previously scheduled meeting at the WH at 12p, which he is at right now.

the axios report that he verbally resigned is false, though there was a conversation over the wknd."

https://twitter.com/politiCOHEN_/status/1044256231123288066
Jonathon Swan is now saying Rosenstein has offered his resignation to Kelly.

Also worth noting Jonathon Swan is getting pummeled quite thoroughly for jumping out (and walking back) on this.
 
Trump doesn't have the balls to fire anyone, and someone on the level of Rosenstein doesn't get to get fired by only the Chief of Staff.
Rosenstein might be save after all.
 
Trump doesn't have the balls to fire anyone, and someone on the level of Rosenstein doesn't get to get fired by the only Chief of Staff.
Rosenstein might be save after all.

If he doesn't resign, they can't use the vacancies act to fill his position with their own choice. They'd have to have his replacement approved by congress and that would require a guarantee that he wouldn't just fire Mueller as a hatchet man.
 
twitter.com/dylanmatt/status/1044259852334374912

11:00AM - Rod Rosenstein to be fired

11:15AM - actually Rosenstein to resign so as to avoid firing

11:45AM - recalculating

12:15pm - actually Rosenstein is not fired at all

1:00pm - Sessions is fired, Rosenstein promoted to AG and will raise Sessions' children as his own

Brilliant summary of the circus...
 
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