Trump's anger toward Jeff Sessions is said to run deep, and it could mean his days as attorney general are shorter than anyone thinks

REUTERS/Mike Segar

Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions during a campaign stop in Herndon, Virginia, October 3, 2016.

• Attorney General Jeff Sessions never stopped being a thorn in President Donald Trump's side, and Trump has not stopped talking about firing him, sources told The Washington Post in a story published Tuesday.
• Trump had those conversations with his lawyers and advisers at least twice this month, White House sources reportedly said.
• President Donald Trump has not been shy about his frustration toward Sessions and special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.
• According to The Post, some lawmakers seem to have resigned themselves to the notion that Trump might indeed fire Sessions, perhaps after the November midterm elections.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions never stopped being a thorn in President Donald Trump's side, and Trump has not stopped talking about firing him, sources told The Washington Post in a story published Tuesday.

Trump had those conversations with his lawyers and advisers at least twice this month, White House sources reportedly said.

Sessions, who was one of Trump's earliest backers, recused himself from the Russia probe in March 2017 after it was revealed that he had met with Russian diplomats during the 2016 election. That move angered Trump then, and still angers him now, according to numerous statements Trump has made on the matter.

"This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further," Trump said in a tweet on August 1. "Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA!"

Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, confirmed that he and the president discussed the possibility of replacing Sessions, but added that any decision would come after Mueller's investigation.

"If there is any action taken, the president agrees with us that it shouldn't be taken until after the investigation is concluded," he said.

AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, file

Jeff Sessions cheers on the crowd during Trump's rally at the Ladd-Peebles Stadium, in Mobile, Alabama.

Trump's feud with Sessions goes beyond his recusal, according to some Republican lawmakers.

"Trump doesn't like him," Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said to reporters, according to The Post. "This relationship has soured, and I'm not blaming Jeff. It can't go on like this."

"It's a pretty deep breach," Graham added.

Other Republicans chimed in to support the attorney general, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who said he had "total confidence" in Sessions.

"I think he should stay exactly where he is," McConnell said.

But some lawmakers appeared to come to terms with the possibility that Sessions may be replaced, perhaps after the November midterm elections.

"We wish the best for him, but as any administration would show, Cabinet members seldom last the entire administration, and this is clearly not an exception," Sen. Roy Blunt of Montana said in The Post.

"At the end of the first two years, changes happen because people are ready to leave, sometimes because their boss is ready for them to leave," Blunt added.

Firing Sessions poses a challenge for Trump amid Mueller's investigation. Replacing the nation's top law enforcement official could be interpreted as obstructing justice for Trump, who is already under scrutiny for dismissing FBI director James Comey in 2017.

According to a senior White House official, aides have taken that possibility into account and have pushed the goalpost further to delay what they believed to be Sessions' eventual ouster.