Sessions' job safe, White House officials say, as lawmakers look to shield Mueller

New White House chief of staff John Kelly recently called Attorney General Jeff Sessions to assure him his job was safe, Fox News has learned from a senior White House official and another source within the Trump administration.

Kelly called Sessions on Saturday to emphasize that the White House supported him and wanted him to continue leading the U.S. Department of Justice, the sources said.

The assurance comes despite tweets and comments about Sessions from President Donald Trump that came after the attorney general recused himself from the Russia collusion investigation.
Meanwhile, two members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee are readying legislation intended to help special counsel Robert Mueller – who is leading the Russia collusion probe – keep his job as well.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., plan to introduce the legislation Thursday. It would allow any special counsel for the Justice Department challenge his or her removal in court, with a review by a three-judge panel within 14 days of the challenge.
The bill would be retroactive to May 17 -- the day Mueller was appointed by deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible ties to Donald Trump’s campaign.
“It is critical that special counsels have the independence and resources they need to lead investigations,” Tillis said in a statement. “A back-end judicial review process to prevent unmerited removals of special counsels not only helps to ensure their investigatory independence, but also reaffirms our nation’s system of check and balances.”
Mueller was appointed as special counsel in May following Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey.
Mueller, who was Comey’s predecessor as FBI director, has assembled a team of prosecutors and lawyers with experience in financial fraud, national security and organized crimes to investigate contacts between Moscow and the Trump campaign.
Trump has been critical of Mueller since his appointment, and his legal team is looking into potential conflicts surrounding the team Mueller has hired, including the backgrounds of members and political contributions by some members to Hillary Clinton. He has also publicly warned Mueller that he would be out of bounds if he dug into the Trump family’s finances.
Mueller has strong support on Capitol Hill. Senators in both parties have expressed concern that Trump may try to fire Mueller and have warned him not to do so.
“Ensuring that the special counsel cannot be removed improperly is critical to the integrity of his investigation,” Coons said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., another member of the Judiciary panel, said last week that he was working on a similar bill that would prevent the firing of a special counsel without judicial review. Graham said then that firing Mueller “would precipitate a firestorm that would be unprecedented in proportions.”
The Tillis and Coons bill would allow review after the special counsel had been dismissed. If the panel found there was no good cause for the counsel’s removal, the person would be immediately reinstated. The legislation would also codify existing Justice Department regulations that a special counsel can only be removed for misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest or other good cause, such as a violation of departmental policies.
In addition, only the attorney general or the most senior Justice Department official in charge of the matter could fire the special counsel.
In the case of the current investigation, Rosenstein is charged with Mueller's fate because Sessions recused himself from all matters having to do with the Trump-Russia investigation.
Fox News’ Serafin Gomez and the Associated Press contributed reporting to this story.

Senate Confirms Multiple Pentagon Positions, Rick Perry Considered to Lead DHS

The Senate unanimously voted on the confirmation of eight nominees on Tuesday, including Wall Street executive Richard Spencer to Navy Secretary.
Spencer is a former Marine Corps aviator and investment banker.
Ellen Lord, the CEO of Textron Systems, will serve as the Pentagon’s Acquisition Chief.
The approval of these nominees brings the total number of Pentagon confirmations in the Trump administration to 15.
Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Rick Perry is reportedly being considered to replace General John Kelly in the Department of Homeland Security.
Sources familiar with the administration’s deliberations say Perry is among the people being looked at for the role.
However, an official in the Energy Department says Perry is focused on his current mission, but is honored to be mentioned.
Earlier this week, the White House downplayed rumors President Trump could move Attorney General Jeff Sessions from his position to the Department of Homeland Security.

DHS Spokesman Being Considered for WH Communications Director Role

New Chief of Staff John Kelly is reportedly considering an official from his former department for the role of White House communications director.
Administration sources say Homeland Security spokesman David Lapan is at the top of the short list for the spot.
Prior to serving at Homeland Security, Lapan led press operations at the Defense Department and the Marine Corps.
Lapan says he hasn’t spoken with anyone in the administration about the job, and noted he would need time to consider the proposal if he was offered the role.
This comes after former Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci was removed from his position earlier this week.

Conservative Cartoons

Ingraham on Republicans: 'A lot of them don't want Donald Trump to succeed'

Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham lashed out at establishment Republicans Tuesday night, telling Fox News' "Hannity" that "a lot of them don't want Donald Trump to succeed."

"A lot of them don't like his policies," said Ingraham, who singled out Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake as being part of "a significant Chamber of Commerce wing of the Republican Party."

Flake made headlines Tuesday with the release of his book, titled "Conscience of a Conservative," in which he described the GOP as being in "denial" about the consequences of electing Trump president.
'CHAOS IS NOT A GOOD PRINCIPLE': FLAKE SAYS GOP 'IN DENIAL ABOUT TRUMP
"Republicans play the safe gentlemanly game of politics," Ingraham told host Sean Hannity. "They agree with the Democrats on a lot of these key issues, and they don’t agree with Donald Trump on a lot of key issues, so they’re not willing to fight for him."
The Lifezette editor-in-chief theorized that Trump's critics have yet to get over his surprise victory in last year's election.
"He crushed them and they never got over it," Ingraham said. "The day after the election, they began plotting what they hoped would be his demise."

US may get tougher against China trade policies

The Trump administration is signaling it intends to take a harsher stance on trade issues than it has during its first six months.

The U.S. is considering using rarely invoked U.S. trade laws to fend off China’s demands that foreign companies share their technology in return for access to the country’s vast market.

The move is prompted by discontent among U.S. businesses, which have grown frustrated with China’s trade and market access practices, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Those practices have helped position China to become a global leader in emerging technologies, such as microchips and electric cars, the New York Times reported.
The U.S. policy shift also may reflect White House frustration that it hasn’t received the help it hoped for from China in addressing North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
But a senior Chinese official said Monday there was no link between North Korea’s nuclear program and China-U.S. trade, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, trade ministers from China and other nations -- including Brazil, Russia and India -- concluded a conference in Shanghai on Wednesday, agreeing to promote international cooperation and oppose "trade and investment protectionism," Reuters reported.
A source familiar with the U.S. discussions said the Trump administration planned to employ Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows Washington to investigate China’s trade practices and, within months, raise tariffs on imports from China, or impose other sanctions.
Section 301 was used frequently in the 1980s to combat Japanese imports of steel, motorcycles and other items, but less frequently after the World Trade Organization was founded in 1995, Reuters reported.
The new investigation would focus on China’s alleged “forced technology transfer policies and practices,” the source said, adding that the Trump administration could launch the probe as soon as this week.
One question not yet answered is whether the Trump administration would work with the WTO or seek to impose penalties on China without relying on the international body, the Wall Street Journal reported.
On Monday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, assailing China and the European Union for “formidable nontariff trade barriers” and asserting the U.S. would use “every available tool” to combat those barriers.

GOP Senators: Stay on Health Care or ‘Move On’ to Tax Reform

Losers?

Some GOP Senators are saying it’s time to move on from health care, and onto tax reform, despite pressure to stay the course from the president and White House officials.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman, Orrin Hatch said it’s time to move onto other legislative priorities. He’d “like to get off health reform for a while,” and let it calm down to come back to it later and then we’ll get that solved.”  Hatch says, “We do need to do tax reform. This country hasn’t had tax reform since 1986.”

Monday, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin reiterated he was 100% confident tax reform could be done this year, saying, “we will pass tax reform. This  is about creating jobs about creating wage growth about a simpler and fairer tax system. We’re going to simplify personal taxes, 95% of Americans will be  able to fill out their tax return on a large post card.”

However, many Republicans think the party should continue to give healthcare another shot.  I think they need to go home and tell their constituents it’s time to move on,” said Lindsey Graham, in response to his colleagues.  “Our best ideas haven’t even been presented yet. “

President Trump continues to urge Senators to push forward with Healthcare. Sunday he tweeted “Don’t give up Republican Senators, the World is watching: Repeal & Replace.. and go to 51 9nuke option), get Cross State Lines & more.”

While Graham said he would not vote on any changes to the Senate, including Trump’s suggested ‘nuke option’ he said “at the end of the day I want to help [President Trump] with an agenda I believe in.  His insistence we continue to focus on health care may save us from ourselves.”

Pres. Trump is Reviewing Pentagon’s Proposed Strategy for Afghanistan

Security forces respond at the site of a suicide attack followed by a clash between Afghanistan’s forces and IS fighters during an attack on Iraq embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, July 31, 2017. A media outlet linked to the Islamic State group says two IS militants were behind the attack on the Iraqi Embassy in the Afghan capital

As the nation’s longest war continues in Afghanistan, President Trump is reviewing the Pentagon’s proposed strategy to break a stalemate against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
On Monday, a defense official said the department’s working on a process that is being guided by the White House.
They’re reviewing how several aspects of national power like the military, intelligence and finances will contribute to their goals in ending the country’s war.
Defense Secretary James Mattis had promised a plan by mid-July after a request for more troops.
However, officials say he wants to make sure the strategy is right before fulfilling that call.