As far as Republican leaders on Capitol Hill are concerned, Donald Trump can say whatever he wants about Robert Mueller and his Russia probe — as long as he doesn’t fire him.

The president’s decision to go after the special counsel by name for the first time — and hire a lawyer who’s accused the FBI of conspiring against the president — has been met with a collective shrug by House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.


And there’s little to suggest that posture will change. Beyond Ryan’s spokeswoman reiterating on Sunday that Mueller’s investigators should “be able to do their job,” Republican leaders have remained silent as Trump escalated his attacks on the Russia investigation. The issue didn't even surface at a House Republican Conference meeting or the Senate GOP leadership huddle on Monday evening.

And the leaders are expected to refrain from criticizing the president Tuesday at news conferences, even as they say they support an independent probe.

The muted reaction showed yet again that if Trump is trying to test the boundaries of his opposition to the Russia probe — some critics fretted during Trump’s weekend tweetstorm that a Saturday Night Massacre-like housecleaning might be in the offing — he’s unlikely to get much resistance from congressional Republicans until the deed is done.

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“I don’t see the necessity of picking that fight,” said No. 2 Senate Republican John Cornyn of Texas. Cornyn said leaders have sent a back-channel message to the White House that Trump must not fire Mueller. But he seemed resigned to Trump’s deepening attacks on the special counsel: “I can’t control that. That’s his decision. I don’t think it’s helpful.”

GOP leaders "probably feel like they don’t need to say it,” added South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who has been among the Republicans who have pushed back the hardest against Trump’s attacks. “You spend your capital on issues where you think you get the best return. And I don’t think anybody in our conference thinks Mueller is going to be fired. I don’t.”

It’s not exactly surprising that Republican leaders are once again shying from a conflict with the president. Ryan once fashioned himself as the moral compass of the Republican Party, but has tamped down his criticism of Trump since the election. His deputy, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), often makes the case that private conversations with Trump have a much better chance of persuading him than any public dispute.

McConnell, on the other hand, has always shied from publicly criticizing the president — and doesn’t appear likely to break that tradition now. He's said nothing about Trump's attack on Mueller over the weekend.

"I don’t know if they know what to say. What do you say? ‘Stop it’?' said Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho). “Trump is going to do what he’s going to do."

GOP leadership allies argue they’ll gain nothing by rebuking Trump publicly and predict they’d probably only make him more angry and the situation worse if they were to speak out against him. They say they’re confident that Trump will not sack Mueller and have reassurances from the White House that the special counsel will be left alone.

"I would certainly hope that the president doesn't intervene in any way or make it difficult for Mueller to complete his work," said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 3 GOP leader. "I've made no secret of the fact that I'm not a fan of when the president tweets. In this case I'm sure he's venting some frustration. But I don't think it's constructive."

That’s not going to be enough for Democrats. Some want Congress to immediately take up legislation to protect Mueller. Indeed, the party spent the entire weekend and Monday calling on Republicans to, essentially, grow a spine.

“Paul Ryan needs to be stronger and so does Mitch McConnell,” said House Intelligence Committee ranking Democrat Adam Schiff of California. “The president is testing the waters and… a muted reaction to what could be another Saturday Night Massacre is only an encouragement” to fire Mueller.

Some Republicans took to the Sunday morning TV shows to push back on Trump. Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) suggested on “Fox News Sunday” that if the president is innocent he and his lawyer needed to act like it, instead of attacking the special counsel like they have something to hide.

But most of the Republicans who criticized the president were the usual Trump critics, including Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who is not running for reelection, and Graham, who warned Trump that firing Mueller would be the end of his presidency.

Indeed, many House Republicans don't want Ryan to criticize Trump. Even Rep. Brian Mast, a vulnerable Republican from Florida, said his leadership doesn't need to be more vocal about protecting the Mueller probe, saying, "Nah, I think we've got enough work around here."

Trump in recent months has ignored the advice of some allies suggesting he take a more aggressive stand against Mueller, listening instead to GOP lawmakers and lawyers advising that he not go after the special counsel. But that changed over the weekend, when Trump took to Twitter to accuse Mueller of filling his “team” with “hardened Democrats” and “some big Crooked Hillary supporters.”

On Monday, Trump hired prominent Washington attorney Joseph DiGenova, who has accused the FBI of trying to frame Trump.

“A total WITCH HUNT with massive conflicts of interest!” Trump tweeted on Monday morning.

Those comments came after another Trump lawyer, John Dowd, suggested Friday that Mueller end his investigation. The White House distanced itself from Dowd’s comments, but many in Washington viewed his remarks as a trial balloon to gauge how far Republicans would allow Trump to go in taking on Mueller.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee member, said, "I would hope that the president would stop commenting and tweeting on Mr. Mueller.”

But Collins said she doesn't think Trump would move to fire Mueller because the probe is overseen by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein — who has pledged to protect the investigation absent any evidence of improper conduct. But Democrats warn that Trump could fire Rosenstein, too.

“It’s nice that Ryan says, ‘Don’t fire the special counsel.’ But … they’re almost encouraging” Trump, said House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.). “They’re certainly not discouraging."