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Allies Warn Trump of Conservative Revolt Unless He Backs Off Sessions - The New York Times

posted onJuly 27, 2017
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Article snippet: WASHINGTON — For a week, some of President Trump’s top aides have tried to talk him down from his public campaign against Attorney General Jeff Sessions. It was exposing tensions within the administration, stirring consternation with the conservative base and setting off a revolt among Senate Republicans incensed over the treatment of a former colleague. Among those urging Mr. Trump to spare Mr. Sessions have been Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff; Stephen K. Bannon, the president’s chief strategist; and Donald F. McGahn II, the White House counsel, according to officials who asked not to be named describing internal deliberations. For the White House, the attacks on the attorney general have touched off a serious problem on Capitol Hill when it did not need any other headaches. Senate Republicans who almost never link arms in unison against a president from their party formed a cordon around Mr. Sessions, making it clear that they neither concurred with nor would tolerate Mr. Trump’s repeated threats to the attorney general’s tenure. Senate leaders made clear they would block Mr. Trump from replacing Mr. Sessions if he tried to do so during the coming recess. “I would hope the public discussion of that would end immediately,” said Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, who said he delivered the message directly to the White House. Those sentiments were echoed publicly by at least a dozen Republican senators, including their top two leaders, Mi... Link to the full article to read more

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