House Republicans of all stripes were on board with the Justice Department’s decision to appoint former FBI Director Robert Mueller as a special counsel to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
The reaction came mere minutes after Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein made the announcement, which drew bipartisan support.
“At some level, it became more and more inevitable,” said Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., a member of the House Freedom Caucus. “Based on feedback I’ve gotten back in my district, a lot of people were concerned, and regardless of what the committees come up with, there would probably still be questions.”
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., the chairman of the Freedom Caucus, told reporters that the move was “prudent” and argued that it was imperative to find someone that Democrats could get on board with. Mueller, he said, fit that bill.
“I certainly support the Department of Justice’s decision to do that. Director Mueller is a capable individual. Hopefully, it will be seen as someone both Democrats and Republicans can support,” Meadows told reporters. “I think it’s a prudent move, and certainly it means that the administration is taking it seriously.”
“I think he comes with more credibility on the Democratic side than on the Republican side, but he comes with credibility on both sides,” Meadows added.
Meanwhile, centrist Republicans and members from swing districts lauded the move. Rep. Barbara Comstock, R-Va., told the Washington Examiner praised Mueller, having worked with him during her tenure at the Justice Department, from 2002-03, while Mueller served as FBI director.
“I think it was the right thing to do, and I think Bob Mueller is an excellent choice,” said Comstock. “He is someone who will have the full confidence of the FBI and of the Justice Department and the public because of his career, so I think that’s ideal.”
The Justice Department came after two days of President Trump being hit with Russia-related controversies. On Monday, it was reported that Trump revealed sensitive intelligence with the Russians in an Oval Office meeting, potentially violating an intelligence-sharing agreement. On Tuesday, there were reports that Trump asked then FBI Director James Comey to stop investigating his national security adviser Mike Flynn.
Flynn was fired in February after he lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his prior contact with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
Both controversies, in addition to Trump’s firing of Comey last week, increased calls for the appointment of a special counsel or independent commission.
According to a spokesman for the Justice Department, the White House counsel’s office was informed of the move after the order had been signed.
Some lawmakers are also pleased that they don’t have to answer questions on the topic of a special counsel or special prosecutor from reporters anymore.
“It’s one less question we have to answer about an extremely confounding and very contentious issue that a lot of people are politicizing while folks like me just want to make sure it’s handled responsibly in a way that people feel confident that it’s going to be done without political considerations,” said Rep. Ryan Costello, R-Pa., who represents part of the Philadelphia suburbs.
David Drucker and Kelly Cohen also contributed to this report.
