Reports: Rosenstein Leaving DOJ After New Attorney General Confirmed
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will reportedly leave the Trump administration as soon as attorney general nominee William Barr is confirmed.
According to multiple reports, Rosenstein has informed President Trump of his upcoming departure after a tumultuous tenure at the Justice Department.
Barr’s confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee will kick off next week on January 15. A confirmation vote would likely come in mid-February.
Rosenstein has had an anything but easy relationship with the president since May, 2017, when he appointed Special Counsel Robert Mueller to conduct the investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.
The New York Times reported last year that the deputy attorney general had floated secretly taping the president and ousting him through the 25th Amendment, sparking speculation on whether Trump would fire him.
Trump forced out former Attorney General Jeff Sessions in November after frequently griping about his recusal from the Russia probe, leaving it in the hands of Rosenstein. Acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker, a critic of the investigation, is currently overseeing the special counsel.
The president has often complained about the investigation and claimed the Justice Department and FBI exhibited bias against his campaign and administration.
