Tuesday’s White House press briefing was somewhat eclipsed by the simultaneous testimony of Facebook’s booster-seated C.E.O., which meant that Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s reply to a question about Robert Mueller drew less attention than it perhaps normally would. When asked whether Donald Trump believes he can fire the special counsel, she answered, “[He] certainly believes he has the power to do so.” Technically speaking, that authority lies with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who was appointed to lead the Justice Department probe after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself. But as the president works himself into a blind rage over the Rosenstein-approved raid of his longtime personal attorney and confidant, Michael Cohen, Mueller’s position is seemingly more perilous than at any other point since his appointment.

Even Congress seems to recognize the gravity of the situation. After Trump told reporters on Monday that “we’ll see what happens” in regards to Mueller, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle once again telegraphed that any move against the special counsel would be an act of political suicide. And though G.O.P. leadership stopped short of supporting legislation that would tie the president’s hands—“I haven’t seen a clear indication yet that we need to pass something to keep him from being removed,” Mitch McConnell told reporters—on Wednesday, Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Thom Tillis joined their Democratic colleagues Chris Coons and Cory Booker in introducing a bill that would allow the special counsel to contest any firing in court within a 10-day window—a combination of a duo of bills introduced last year and the result of a months-long discussion among lawmakers. The bill is on track for a vote in the Judiciary Committee, and could undergo a markup as soon as next week.

Trump has already threatened to fire Mueller several times: once in June of last year, shortly after he was appointed by Rosenstein (he ultimately decided against it after Donald McGahn, the White House general counsel, threatened to resign) and, as The New York Times reported Tuesday night, once in early December. At the time, Trump believed Mueller had crossed his previously imposed “red line,” after news outlets reported that the special counsel’s office issued a round of subpoenas to obtain information about his financial dealings with Deutsche Bank. Trump was ultimately talked down by advisers after they realized the stories were inaccurate, according to the Times.

Perhaps the greater danger lies in a high-level shakeup at the Justice Department, which Trump is also apparently weighing as an option. On Tuesday night, CNN reported that Trump may fire Rosenstein, or Sessions, whose recusal he still views as the “original sin.” According to the report, the former would be more likely; Republican lawmakers have signaled to Trump that firing Sessions would be met with pushback and portend a brutal confirmation battle for a new attorney general, and some of Trump’s advisers believe Rosenstein’s involvement in__James Comey’s__ firing makes him vulnerable. If Trump ousts Rosenstein, he could in theory install a replacement more willing to reel Mueller in, thereby circumventing the need to fire him outright.

During the White House briefing on Tuesday, Sanders wouldn’t say whether the president had engaged in conversations about dismissing Mueller, Sessions, or Rosenstein. “I haven’t had any conversations with him on that,” she hedged. “I can’t speak beyond that.”