WASHINGTON--As President Donald Trump fumed over an FBI raid targeting his personal attorney, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Wednesday he has been assured Trump does not intend to fire the special counsel investigating Russian election meddling.
A Senate panel prepared meanwhile to consider a bill that would ensure the president cannot fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller, whose federal probe includes looking into possible collusion with Russia by Trump's presidential campaign. The measure will be placed on the Senate Judiciary Committee's agenda next week, the panel's top Democrat, Dianne Feinstein, said in a statement Wednesday evening.
Trump's simmering anger at Mueller erupted again this week after Federal Bureau of Investigation agents raided the home and office of Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen on Monday. The searches followed a referral by Mueller.
Lawmakers, including senior members of Trump's own Republican Party, have expressed concern after the president suggested he might remove Mueller. "I have no reason to believe that that's going to happen," Ryan said at a news conference. "I have assurances that it's not, because I've been talking to people in the White House about it."
On Wednesday, four senators introduced a bill that would protect the office of the special counsel, merging two different proposals. The proposed legislation would add the weight of law to current Justice Department regulations that govern the office of special counsel.
The Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Charles Grassley, said this week it would be "suicide" for the president to try to fire Mueller.
Democrat Feinstein said she was worried about an amendment to the bill that she had not been able to review. "I've discussed this with Chairman Grassley and he has agreed to not take action this week but instead place the bill on the committee's markup calendar next week," she said.
However, it was unclear if the proposal would garner the votes needed in the Republican-controlled Congress. Senator John Thune, a junior member of the Senate leadership, said he did not think it could muster the needed 60 votes to clear procedural floor votes in the Senate.
Reports have circulated for months that Trump is also considering firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his deputy, Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein took over responsibility for the Russia probe and appointed Mueller in May after Sessions, who was a Trump adviser during the 2016 campaign, recused himself.
