I'd take any behind-the-scenes reporting from the NYTimes with a whole shaker full of salt. Their purpose and tone is to slime the Republicans, not to inform the reader.
FWIW, I'd love to see Jeff Sessions, but as with Gingrich, I'm not sure two old guys is the way to go. Besides that, the US Senate is a sewer far worse than even the most cynical of us imagined (even Lee and Sasse have gone over to the dark side). How does Trump ever deal with that Illuminati haven if Sessions isn't there?