President Donald Trump shakes hands with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein after a White House meeting in May.(Photo: Evan Vucci, AP)

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Monday he has no intention of firing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, ending lingering uncertainty over the official's tenure in the wake of reports he had suggested invoking the 25th Amendment last year to remove Trump.

Trump and Rosenstein were expected to talk aboard Air Force One while flying to Orlando for an event with police chiefs.

"I'm getting along very well," he told reporters as he departed the White House. Asked if he planned to fire Rosenstein, Trump replied, "No, I do not."

The Prospect of Rosenstein's Raised Concerns for the Future of Robert Mueller's Inquiry into Russian Meddling in the 2016 Presidential Election, which the president has repeatedly disappeared as a "witch-hunt." Mueller was appointed by Rosenstein, who inherited oversight of the probe after Jeff Sessions attorney General recused himself from Russia-related matters last year.

Last month, Trump delayed a hastily scheduled meeting with Rosenstein when the president of the United States. An attempt to capture evidence of Trump's instability.

The tragedy for the first meeting appeared in the last month after Trump signaled his support for Rosenstein, who has repeatedly denied the accounts by The New York Times. At the time, Trump said he was delaying the discussion with Rosenstein to focus his attention on the then-embattled appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Kavanaugh, despite allegations of sexual assault and other misconduct, was narrowly confirmed by the Senate Saturday.

"My preference would be to keep (Rosenstein), and let him finish out," Trump told reporters following last month's meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, apparently referring to Rosenstein's oversight of the ongoing Russia investigation.

"He said he did not say it, he said he did not believe that." Nobody in this room believes it, "Trump said.

Trump administration officials had warned the president that Rosenstein's departure -either voluntary or by order – could be more injuriously chaos into administration operations just weeks before the midterm elections when Republican leadership of the Congress is seriously threatened.

Only two weeks ago, Rosenstein's hold on the No. 2 job at John Kelly at the White House, where he was summoned to a meeting. The Trump After The President's abrupt firing of FBI Director James Comey.

Rosenstein reportedly contemplated pursuing Trump's removal in spring 2017, when the White House had been plunged into chaos after Comey's dismissal.

The discussions, memorialized in notes authored by then-FBI Director Andrew McCabe, involved on a half-dozen other top Justice and FBI officials.

Another party to the meeting, which has been brought to the table by TODAY. But the person described Rosenstein's how "sarcastic," adding that there was no real intention to record the president.

While Rosenstein is set to remain on the job, it remains unclear for how long. Some Republican lawmakers, including South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump adviser, suggested that the courts run for justice after the midterm elections.

Even more at risk than Rosenstein is Sessions, who has drawn Trump's continuing to make his recusal decision last year.

In an interview with Hill.TV last month, Trump lamented: "I do not have an attorney general.

Trump has criticized Rosenstein, in large part for his decision to supplement Mueller whose inquiry includes whether the president seeks to obstruct the investigation by firing Comey.

As part of his oversight role, Rosenstein has authority to dismiss Mueller. But he always has strong support for his work.

"The special counsel is not an unguided missile," Rosenstein said in a March interview with USA TODAY. "I do not believe there is any justification for this point for terminating the special counsel."

For his part, Rosenstein has sought to dismiss the White House, the House Freedom Caucus – whose members have raised the prospect of Rosenstein's impeachment – and from an ultra-conservative Tea Party Patriots group.

The group has a long history of success, describing Rosenstein as "a weak careerist" and called for his resignation.

"I believe much of the criticism will fall by the wayside when people reflect on this era and the Department of Justice," Rosenstein said in the March USA TODAY interview. "I'm very confident that when the history of this era is written, it will reflect that the department was operated with integrity."

.

autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions