November 08, 2018
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is reportedly being eyed by President Donald Trump to replace Jeff Sessions as U.S. attorney general, according to CBS News.
After Trump forced Sessions to resign on Wednesday, Sessions' chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, was appointed acting attorney general. Trump had reportedly been unhappy with Sessions since his March 2017 recusal from the Justice Department's probe into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. His firing came a day after the midterm elections.
Christie joins Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, former New York City Mayor and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and William Barr, a U.S. attorney general under President George W. Bush, as possible replacements, CBS News reported. The list is likely to grow in coming days.
From 2002 to 2008, Christie served as a U.S. attorney in New Jersey. In the 2016 presidential election, Christie was one of the first to endorse Trump after he ended his own campaign for president, but was then overlooked for the job of vice president in what some saw as a major slight. Reports even claimed Trump offered the role to Christie before Mike Pence, but was talked out of it by top aides.
Chris Christie is at the White House
— Michael Del Moro (@MikeDelMoro) November 8, 2018
Chris Christie doesn’t have a shot in hell for AG. He put Kushner’s dad in prison. Another distraction. Real front runners are Lindsey Graham, Trey Gowdy, Alex Azar, Pam Bondi and Rudy Giuliani. I didn’t think it could get worse than Sessions. Then I saw that list. They’re worse.
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) November 8, 2018
The two are longtime friends, however their relationship hit a bump back in 2016 when Christie was named chairman of Trump's presidential transition team and then ousted abruptly toward the end of the transition period.
Christie was apparently at the White House on Thursday afternoon for a previously-scheduled meeting on criminal justice reform.
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