House

Ryan wants GOP to leave Rosenstein to Trump

by Melanie Zanona and Scott Wong - 09/26/18 2:53 PM ET

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) says Congress should defer to the Trump administration when it comes to the fate of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, breaking with House conservatives and setting up a potentially ugly internal GOP showdown weeks before the midterm elections.

“The president obviously should have political appointees he has faith and confidence in. [Rosenstein] is meeting with the president tomorrow, so we should not step in the way of that,” Ryan told reporters on Wednesday. “We should let the president work it out with Rod Rosenstein. I hope they have a good productive conversation, and I hope that’s helpful.”

{mosads}Ryan suggested that it’s up to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) whether to invite Rosenstein to testify about last week’s bombshell New York Times report, which claimed that the deputy attorney general proposed secretly recording Trump after his controversial decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey.

The Speaker’s comments come in contrast to leaders of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, who are calling on Rosenstein to testify in front of Congress or else resign or be impeached, regardless of the outcome of Thursday’s high-stakes meeting at the White House.

That meeting comes after a chaotic Monday, when a flurry of erroneous news reports emerged saying Rosenstein had either resigned or been sacked.

“To suggest that everything is OK tomorrow based on a resignation or potential firing, usurps the authority we have here in Congress,” Meadows told reporters Wednesday.

Ryan, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Goodlatte met with Freedom Caucus leaders Wednesday afternoon, where the conservative lawmakers were expected to urge GOP leaders to invite Rosenstein to testify. It’s unclear whether the group will try to force an impeachment vote if they don’t get their way.

Lawmakers emerging from the meeting in Ryan’s office suite were tight-lipped about what was discussed and whether there were any agreements — or threats — made.

“There’s a meeting in the Speaker’s office today that I think will be very instructive on that outcome,” conservative Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) told The Hill before the meeting. “Those of us who would like to see Rosenstein in the witness chair are going to have the ability to make our argument. And hopefully we’ll prevail on the Speaker to allow that to occur.”

The conservative caucus met Tuesday night, where the group of roughly 30 hard-liners took an official position that Rosenstein should testify or else resign. Meadows, who introduced articles of impeachment in July, has taken the message even further, threatening to impeach Rosenstein if he refuses to testify.

“We are pushing very hard to make sure that he comes in under oath to Congress and let the American people judge for themselves,” Meadows said Monday night on Fox News. “I can tell you that if he does not, there are a number of us that are standing by really with impeachment documents that say we cannot have this kind of activity continue at [the Department of Justice].”

Goodlatte has so far shown no indication that he plans to invite Rosenstein to testify. Instead, the panel announced Tuesday night that it is preparing to subpoena the Justice Department for memos written by former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.

The memos were the basis for The New York Times’s report last week and have long been sought by conservatives.

Freedom Caucus members have not been satisfied by Goodlatte’s subpoena move, and doubt that the Justice Department would actually hand over the memos.

“He should have subpoenaed back 60 days ago when we asked for them,” Meadows said. “We believe that Rod Rosenstein needs to come before Congress. So anything that undercuts that is a disappointment.”

The Freedom Caucus — or any member of Congress — could file impeachment articles as a “privileged resolution,” which would force every member to take a recorded vote on whether to oust Rosenstein. The resolution would have needed to be filed by Wednesday in order to ensure a floor vote by Friday, when the House is expected to break for recess until after the November elections.

The resolution could still be filed later in the week, but then a floor vote likely wouldn’t come until after the midterm elections.

Ryan is eager to tamp down the impeachment threats, which would force vulnerable GOP members to take a position on an uncomfortable and potentially toxic issue ahead of the midterm elections. House GOP leaders are focused on passing a number of messaging bills and policy wins that are scheduled for the floor this week.

McCarthy, Ryan’s top lieutenant and heir apparent, also said Congress should wait to see what happens after Thursday’s meeting.

“I think the president should have that meeting,” McCarthy said. “I think the president has a right to meet with him — to listen to what his opinion is and let the process of answering those questions and that should be the first thing that happens.”

But House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), who is waiting in the wings should McCarthy fail to win the Speakership, was more forthcoming.

“I’ve been real concerned about the direction that Rosenstein is taking. Even joking about the 25th Amendment challenge to the president, there’s no place for that and he ought to resign,” Scalise told The Hill on Tuesday.

“But ultimately … we have a lot of things going on this week,” he added.

Meanwhile, Senate Republicans have been urging Trump not to fire Rosenstein — offering a split-screen view of the dueling priorities of Senate and House Republicans heading into the November elections.

“If there’s any attempt to fire or force out Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein, that would be a huge red line and very problematic,” moderate Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told CNN.

“I like Rosenstein personally,” added Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. If Trump fires Rosenstein, “it would cause a furor that I don’t think we need right now.”

Updated at 5:56 p.m.

Juliegrace Brufke contributed to this story.