[Political Junkie Too]

President Trump needs to act as if 2019 is the only thing that matters.

Trump needs to build up a defense against the Democrats going after him via impeachment, leaking his taxes, and using Mueller to dirty him up for 2020.

To do this, he should do the following:

1. As soon as the 115th Congress adjourns sine die, Trump should fire Sessions (or accept his resignation), and fire Rosenstein.
2. Trump should recess appoint as Attorney General a bulldog, a fighter, a person who doesn't want a Beltway career, and who is willing to make the tough calls the way that Sessions wouldn't. Somebody outspoken, like Jeanine Pirro who appeared on stage with Trump, might be a good choice. This appointment would expire at the end of 2019, so would be immune to Senate interference for the duration.
3. Trump should nominate a replacement for Rosenstein through the normal Senate process. Let the Senate Republican Judiciary Committee members like Lindsey Graham have a platform to counter House Democrats investigating Trump, like Maxine Waters, Adam Schiff, and Jerry Nadler, while the Deputy Attorney General position is being confirmed. Let the questions be about prosecuting leaks, like Trump's tax returns or national security intelligence.
4. The new Attorney General should immediately take control of the Mueller investigation, demanding an immediate briefing by Mueller, and potentially shutting down the investigation outright. Let the 55+ Republicans in the Senate deal with Democrat howls of obstruction, since 2019 is going to be about all-out war with the Democrats anyway. It's best in the short term to take this weapon off the table now, and worry about impeachment in the Senate later, if it ever gets that far.
5. If Democrats demand that Mueller testify before the House, the new Attorney General should appear instead, as his superior, and report the findings on behalf of the Justice Department. Insist that Mueller doesn't have the authority to report the findings to Congress, only the Attorney General has the authority to speak on this matter for the Executive Branch.
6. The new Attorney General can also take a harder line on illegal immigration actions to counter Democrat obstruction of border security. Other outstanding issues to be fought hard are continuing obstruction of travel bans, DACA enforcement, and the courts forcing the continuation of discretionary judicial grants to the states.
7. The new Attorney General should tackle the recent escalation of "too big to prosecute" lawlessness. Pick one or two high-profile Americans for prosecution of serious crimes. If not Clinton, then McCabe, Comey, Brennan, or Rice, for domestic spying, perjury before the FISA courts, or tampering with evidence. Something.
8. In 2020 when the recess appointment expires, Trump can formally nominate a permanent Attorney General and give Republicans another Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing to campaign from going into the 2020 election. Set the Democrats up for a repeat of their 2018 performance and show voters again what their choices are.
9. It's been said that nobody would want a recess appointment who wanted a long-term career in DC, because of the "taint" of being recess appointed instead of facing bipartisan confirmation hearings. Recess appointing a temporary one-year Attorney General to do the dirty work to defend the Trump administration against mad dog Democrats in the House, followed by a nomination for a lifetime appointment to a federal Circuit Court with a possible path to a future SCOTUS nomination, to be confirmed by a friendly Senate, might be a good reward for a job well done.

-PJ

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Ha! I just re-posted your brilliance from an earlier thread...forgot who to attribute to.