"Let's see what's going on with Mueller in the next 30-40 days," New Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham said. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Legal Mueller protection bill likely to get new committee vote

A bill to protect special counsel Robert Mueller is likely to get another vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee if the Russia probe is still going later this winter, new Chairman Lindsey Graham said in an interview on Wednesday.

Graham and Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) are reintroducing the bill this week. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved it under former Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), but it will need another committee vote now that the 116th Congress has convened.


The South Carolina Republican said that if the Mueller probe has not concluded in February, he's likely to put the bill up for a vote on the panel. The measure drew the support of four GOP senators last time, though Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) has since retired and been replaced on the committee by senators that are closer to Trump.

"Let's see what's going on with Mueller in the next 30-40 days," Graham said. "Institutionally, its a good thing to have for the future. It's not the top priority but it's important."

The bill would shield Mueller from being fired except for good cause by a Senate-confirmed official. It also gives any special counsel the ability to demand a judicial review of a firing.

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Flake repeatedly tried to bring it up on the Senate floor in the last Congress, though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) never allowed a vote.

McConnell and many other Republicans argue the bill is unnecessary because they say Trump won't fire Mueller, despite the president’s repeated attacks on the special counsel‘s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 campaign.