Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday that the Republican-led Senate would not take up any legislation aimed at protecting special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired by President Trump.
“We are not going to do that,” McConnell said when asked if the Senate would move on the bill.
Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Chris Coons, D-Del., plan to ask for unanimous consent late Wednesday to bring up such a bill, but their parliamentary tactic faces little chance of moving forward because a GOP lawmaker will move to block it. Without unanimous consent, the bill can only reach the floor if it’s scheduled by McConnell, who won’t do it.
McConnell said he believes Trump has no intention of firing Mueller, despite his opposition to the probe, which the president has labeled a “witch hunt.” He added that he has not changed his view of the matter now that Trump has replaced Attorney General Jeff Sessions with Sessions’ chief of staff, Matt Whitaker.
“As you can imagine, I talk to the president fairly often,” McConnell told reporters. “He’s given no indication the Mueller investigation will not be allowed to finish.”
McConnell added, “We know how the president feels about the Mueller investigation, but he’s never said he wants to shut it down.”
