White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci defended Tuesday President Donald Trump’s public critiques of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, saying Trump “wants his Cabinet secretaries to have his back.”
Trump tweeted on Monday and Tuesday to call his attorney general “beleaguered” and “VERY weak,” raising the specter that he may soon seek to push Sessions off his perch atop the Justice Department.
Scaramucci, speaking with reporters at the White House, praised Sessions’ efforts campaigning for Trump during the election season and noted that he “was there early for him,” but conceded: “There’s obviously an issue in the relationship.”
“We’ll get a resolution shortly,” Scaramucci said.
Trump will take questions from reporters Tuesday during a joint news conference with the Lebanese prime minister, hours after firing off his latest missive targeting Sessions.
Trump’s anger stems from the attorney general’s decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation in March, but that frustration spilled over into the public eye when Trump rebuked Sessions in an interview with The New York Times last week, saying he would not have appointed Sessions to the position had he known he would recuse himself.
GOP senators countered Trump’s criticism on Tuesday with an outpouring of support for Sessions, with several releasing statements backing Sessions’ recusal decision and praising his work as attorney general.