ATTORNEY GENERAL/GOP/NOMINATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Senate Republicans are urging President Donald Trump to quickly nominate a permanent attorney general, hoping a new top law enforcement officer will blunt bipartisan concern over the future of special counsel Robert Mueller and boost the GOP ahead of tough government funding talks. Even after Trump’s latest attack on Mueller in a flurry of tweets Thursday [11-15-18], most Republicans argue the president will not fire Mueller or derail his investigation because the political consequences would be too great. But they said that naming an attorney general nominee as soon as possible — specifically one who would vow to preserve the Russia probe — would go a long way in halting legislative momentum to protect Mueller and Democratic messaging that acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker will undermine the investigation…The White House is working to find a broadly acceptable pick for the job. The president’s legal team has reached out to former Attorney General Bill Barr to gauge his interest in the position, according to sources familiar with the conversations. Barr, a veteran of the George H.W. Bush administration, didn’t say no, but he did tell the president’s lawyers he’d prefer they look at other options.”
–Burgess Everett and Eliana Johnson, “GOP pushes Trump for new attorney general amid Mueller uproar,” Politico, November 16, 2018 5:06 am