“Dead weight”: Trump may dump Sessions and McMaster, replace them with Pruitt and Bolton; Carson also in jeopardy

“People close to the White House say they expect more major personnel shifts this week,” tweeted Maggie Haberman yesterday. Attorney General and National Security Advisor sound pretty major.

Cycling out Jeff Sessions and cycling in John Bolton would be even weirder than bringing in Larry Kudlow to run economic policy in a protectionist White House. Until Trump jumped into politics, Sessions was the most prominent nationalist in the Republican Party, certainly in elected office. Bolton, meanwhile, has been one of the GOP’s most outspoken hawks for decades. Somehow, a little more than a year into his term, a guy who got elected president running as an anti-interventionist “America First” populist is prepared to cashier the former and hire the latter. On what planet does that make sense?

Answer: The planet where personal “loyalty” to Trump matters more than policy does. Bolton says nice things about the president on TV while Sessions put his ethical duty to recuse himself from the Russiagate probe above Trump’s personal interests. That’s all there is to it. Gabriel Sherman sees change a-comin’:

According to a person who spoke with Bolton after the meeting, Bolton recalled that Trump said he wanted him to join the administration: “We need you in here, John.” Bolton responded that there were only two jobs he’d consider: secretary of state and national security adviser. Trump said, “O.K, I’ll call you really soon.” Sources added that Trump spent much of the time with Bolton fuming that McMaster was speaking privately with Barack Obama’s former national security adviser Susan Rice. “Trump kept saying, ‘Can you believe it? To Susan Rice? Can you believe it?’”

Perhaps most consequential for Robert Mueller’s investigation, sources said Trump has discussed a plan to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions. According to two Republicans in regular contact with the White House, there have been talks that Trump could replace Sessions with E.P.A. Administrator Scott Pruitt, who would not be recused from overseeing the Russia probe. Also, because Pruitt is already a Cabinet secretary, he would not have to go through another Senate confirmation hearing.

Read the rest from Allahpundit HERE.