Jeff Sessions has no plans to resign, hasn't spoken to Trump in days, source says

But a White House spokesman says "We'll get to a resolution shortly."

ByABC News
July 25, 2017, 3:01 PM

— -- Attorney General Jeff Sessions has no plans to resign, despite the latest public criticism from President Donald Trump, according to a source familiar with the situation.

At this point, the source told ABC News, Sessions is of the mind that he's going to keep his head down and press on.

Sessions has not spoken to the president in days, and there are no plans for him to do so, the source said.

Meanwhile, White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said, "There's obviously an issue in the relationship ... We'll get to a resolution shortly ... The president wants his Cabinet secretary to have his back."

The latest sign of the rising tension came this morning when Trump tweeted that Sessions was "VERY weak" on "Hillary Clinton crimes."

Trump returned to his theme of dismissing the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible ties to Trump associates as a "witch hunt."

This morning's tweet critical of Sessions continued a recent pattern by Trump. Trump called Sessions "beleaguered" on Monday.

While Sessions was one of Trump's earliest and most loyal campaign supporters on Capitol Hill, the president has grown increasingly frustrated with Sessions over his decision to recuse himself from the Department of Justice's Russia inquiry — a decision that infuriated Trump and led Sessions to offer his resignation earlier this year. Trump rejected the offer at the time.

In an interview with The New York Times last week, Trump said he wouldn't have appointed Sessions attorney general if he had known he would recuse himself.

"How do you take a job and then recuse yourself?" Trump told the Times. "If he would have recused himself before the job, I would have said, 'Thanks, Jeff, but I can't, you know, I'm not going to take you.'"

Sessions' recusal, Trump said, was "extremely unfair, and that's a mild word, to the president."

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders echoed the point on "Fox and Friends" this morning, saying, "I know that [Trump] is certainly frustrated and disappointed in the attorney general for recusing himself. He is continuing to move forward and focus on other things. But that frustration certainly hasn't gone away, and I don't think it will."

Asked whether Trump wants Sessions out as attorney general, she said that is a "decision if the president wants to make, he certainly will."

Despite the public criticism from the president, Sessions said last week he plans to stay on as attorney general, "as long as that is appropriate."

ABC News' Jordyn Phelps contributed to this report.

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