Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Friday that he worries about dysfunction in the Trump administration caused by President Trump’s frequent and often public criticism of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Gonzales, who served under former President George W. Bush, told CNN that presidents should communicate dissatisfaction to Cabinet officials privately, rather than air grievances on Twitter.
{mosads}”I say that hopefully with the intent to encourage the president not to be so public of his criticism of a Cabinet official,” Gonzales said in the interview.
Gonzales added that every president has from time to time expressed “displeasure” in the performance of a Cabinet member, but noted that “normally that displeasure is communicated privately.”
Trump and Sessions sparred publicly on Thursday after Trump hammered his attorney general during a Fox News interview, accusing Democrats of having a strong presence in the Justice Department which the president says Sessions does not control.
“The Dems are very strong in the Justice Department,” Trump said on “Fox & Friends.” “And I put in an attorney general that never took control of the Justice Department, Jeff Sessions. Never took control of the Justice Department.”
Sessions fired back in a rare statement, saying that he would not allow the agency to be tainted by political decisions.
“While I am Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations. I demand the highest standards, and where they are not met, I take action,” Sessions wrote.