Comment on Rumors Flew That Rod Rosenstein Resigned or Was Fired. Here’s Why It Would Matter Which Happened

Rumors Flew That Rod Rosenstein Resigned or Was Fired. Here’s Why It Would Matter Which Happened

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein apparently isn’t going anywhere yet, after rumors swirled Monday morning that he was about to resign or be fired in a dramatic White House showdown. One reason such close attention is being paid to Rosenstein is that he oversees special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. In that role, a lot may depend on whether he was fired — or resigned. According to the Federal Vacancies Act of 1988, the president can temporarily replace an officer from an executive agency who “dies, resigns, or is otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office” with a Senate-confirmed political appointee. While the law does not specifically include “fired” as a reason for the president to appoint a Senate-confirmed political appointee, it also doesn’t explicitly say otherwise. That means a Rosenstein firing could lead to a legal fight over how Trump handles his replacement, something critics worry could be used to downsize or even scuttle Mueller’s investigation. Already there’s a legal fight over a similar Cabinet issue. When Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin was fired after a report criticized him for unethical actions on a business trip, Trump named Robert Wilkie as his temporary successor.

 

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