Senate Republicans are having trouble thinking of who they could confirm to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions if Donald Trump fires him for insufficient loyalty. Senators don’t like voting against other senators, so a current member of the Senate is the best bet for confirmation, but several of the likely suspects are, for now at least, saying they’re not interested. Another complication is Trump’s famous need for personal loyalty:
One Republican senator said a senator nominated as attorney general would have to have a squeaky clean record of praise for Trump and estimated that perhaps only four members of the Senate would qualify, calling it a “pretty small universe” of candidates.
If Trump fires Sessions, his replacement pick would pretty much automatically be suspected of having been chosen to protect Trump from investigation, giving Democrats a reason to hold strong together and giving pause to any Republican who occasionally likes to pose as semi-independent. The options are so scant that it’s apparently prompted Sen. Orrin Hatch to consider a post-retirement career as a comedian, saying that “If I was the president, I’d even consider picking a Democrat if I thought I couldn’t get anybody else through.”
That’s not the only confirmation problem Trump is likely to face, since he reportedly plans to fire Defense Secretary Jim Mattis after the elections as well, if Mattis doesn’t beat him to the punch by resigning.
Let's make it harder for Trump to replace Sessions by electing Beto O'Rourke and Jacky Rosen to the Senate. Can you give $5?