Rod Rosenstein arrives at White House for pre-scheduled meeting, unclear if he will meet with Trump
WASHINGTON – Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein made a brief trip to the White House Thursday morning for a meeting with other administration officials amid continuing uncertainty as to whether he would sit down with President Donald Trump himself.
Trump, who was flying back from New York City at the time Rosenstein entered the West Wing, still has an afternoon meeting with Rosenstein on his schedule, but officials said it could be delayed because of the Brett Kavanaugh hearing.
“If it needs to get pushed a few hours or maybe to the next day, they will,” presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway told Fox News.
Trump plans to talk about Rosenstein’s future at the Justice Department in the wake of news reports that he discussed invoking the 25th Amendment last year to seek the president’s removal from office.
On Wednesday, Trump said he may delay the meeting to avoid interfering with a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in which Kavanaugh, his Supreme Court nominee, is set to confront allegations of sexual assault.
The urgency for a meeting between Rosenstein and Trump appeared to abate after the president signaled his support for the deputy attorney general to remain in his post, despite the reports about the 25th Amendment.
“My preference would be to keep (Rosenstein), and let him finish out,” Trump told reporters following a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, apparently referring to Rosenstein’s oversight of the ongoing investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump had not spoken with Rosenstein on Thursday, but would keep reporters informed on the status of the meeting.