Donald Trump was reportedly “seething” in his private White House residence on Monday as he learned that two of his former campaign staffers had been indicted, and that one in particular—George Papadopoulos, an unpaid foreign-policy adviser—pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I. and could potentially link his campaign with efforts to collaborate with Russian operatives. The dramatic escalation in Robert Mueller’s probe set off a wave of fresh speculation that Trump would move to fire the special counsel, but the president's legal team was quick to tamp down on those rumors. “There are no discussions and there is no consideration being given to terminating Mueller,” White House lawyer Ty Cobb told the press.

White House aides and Capitol Hill Republicans alike have signaled to Trump that any attempt to oust Mueller could set off a political firestorm reminiscent of Richard Nixon’s “Saturday Night Massacre.” But in the wake of the indictments, multiple reports on Monday suggested that the president may be tempted to explore other avenues to impede Mueller’s work—with a potential ally in his former top strategist, Steve Bannon.

A former F.B.I. agent whose professionalism Bannon has reportedly praised in private, Mueller’s probe has long been a topic of concern for the Breitbart News chief. Back in July, Joshua Green reported that Bannon set up a “war room” modeled after Bill Clinton's to address the onslaught, purposefully stationing his team outside the White House, he told an associate, to give them freedom “to throw some fucking haymakers.” Now, according to reports, his inchoate plan of attack against Mueller is multi-pronged. Citing a source familiar with Bannon’s thinking, CNN reported that his strategy to defang the special counsel would include getting Congress to curtail funding for Mueller’s investigation, publicly attack the special counsel’s broad mandate, and stymieing document production.

The former White House chief strategist, who reportedly spoke with the president on Monday, is also disillusioned with Cobb's strategy, which so far has been to cooperate with Mueller. “In terms of Steve’s thinking of how the president is handling this, yeah, he thinks the legal team was not prepared for what happened today—they’re not serving the president well,” a source close to Bannon told The Daily Beast. Another source added that Bannon thinks Cobb and John Dowd, the president’s other top attorney, “are asleep at the wheel.” Two sources told The Daily Beast that Bannon urged Trump to bolster his legal team with fresh blood, introducing a new level of “ruthlessness”—a source told CNN that it wouldn’t be surprising if Trump took this route.

When it comes to moving openly against Mueller, however, Trump may find his hands tied by Congress. Despite signs last week that Republicans’ frustration with the enduring F.B.I. probe is mounting, even most G.O.P. lawmakers seemed hesitant to cut the special prosecutor's budget through their jurisdiction over the Justice Department. “I’d be inclined to approve it,” Senator Lindsey Graham, who has positioned himself as Trump's best golfing buddy, told Politico in reference to the budget, adding, “He seems to be a pretty frugal guy.” Other lawmakers have signaled that any attempt by the president to touch the special counsel would be politically unsound. “I mean that would be such an outrageous move,” Senator Bob Corker, who has been at odds with the president for weeks, told Politico, adding, “My guess is they wish they hadn’t fired the first person, but I can’t imagine that happening.”

As the White House preps for a string of policy-focused weeks and the president prepares for a 12-day trip to Asia, all eyes will be on Trump to see if he can maintain the level of restraint Cobb and others have urged—a task that could amount to self-preservation. But if his frustration with his administration's "kid-gloves approach" to Mueller boils over, Bannon may win the president's ear after all.