JEFF SESSIONS/JOHN KELLY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “New White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told Attorney General Jeff Sessions last weekend that his job was safe after Sessions endured several weeks of sharp public criticism from President Donald Trump, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday [8-2-17].
Kelly, who was named chief of staff by Trump on Friday, phoned Sessions on Saturday to reassure him the White House wanted him to remain as head of the Justice Department, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The conversation was first reported by the Associated Press.
Kelly said Trump was still annoyed with Sessions’ decision in March to recuse himself from the investigation of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign, but there had been ‘kind of a thaw’ in Trump’s attitude toward him, according to the official.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment.”
-Steve Holland and Eric Beech, “New White House chief of staff assures attorney general his job is safe,” Reuters, Aug. 2, 2017 06:07pm