Committee approves bill to make it more difficult for Donald Trump to fire the special counsel by instilling a delay and review process

Legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired advanced through a Senate committee on Thursday.

By a vote of 14-7, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation to make it more difficult for Donald Trump to fire the special counsel. All 10 Democrats on the panel joined with four Republicans to approve the legislation. The four Republicans who supported it were the committee’s chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Jeff Flake of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. The latter two Republicans cosponsored the legislation with Democrats Cory Booker of New Jersey and Chris Coons of Delaware.

The bill would delay the firing of a special counsel by ten days and allow an ousted special counsel to have a panel of federal judges review the decision.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has said he feels legislation to protect Mueller is unnecessary. He told reporters earlier in April: “I haven’t seen a clear indication yet that we needed to pass something to keep him from being removed because I don’t think that’s going to happen, and that remains my view.”

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However the Kentucky Republican added: “It’s still my view that Mueller should be allowed to finish his job, I think that’s the view of most people in Congress. And it remains my view that I don’t think he’s going to be removed from this office. He shouldn’t be removed from the office. He should be allowed to finish his job.”

Earlier Thursday, Trump told Fox News that although he wasn’t interfering with the investigation that he reserved the right to do so. “I’ve taken the position – and I don’t have to take this position and maybe I’ll change – that I will not be involved with the justice department. I will wait until this is over,” said Trump.

Trump has reportedly mused about firing Mueller and has tweeted that he is “conflicted” in his role as special counsel. The New York Times reported in April that Trump had demanded Mueller’s firing as recently as December but was talked out of doing so.

