President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would not have chosen Jeff Sessions to serve as attorney general if he knew he would recuse himself from the Russia investigation.
Trump spoke about his recent criticisms of Sessions during a joint White House press conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri. He pointed to the recusal and the leaks that are pouring out of intelligence agencies as reasons why he's "very disappointed" with Sessions.
"He should not have recused himself almost immediately after he took office," Trump said. "If he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me prior to taking office. And I would have quite simply picked somebody else."
Sessions announced in March he would steer clear of any Department of Justice investigations surrounding Trump and Russia because of the role he played on Trump's campaign.
Trump said the leaks aren't helping Sessions' standing.
"I want the attorney general to be much tougher on the leaks from intelligence agencies, which are leaking like rarely have they ever leaked before at a very important level," he said. "These are intelligence agencies. We cannot have that happen.
"I'm very disappointed with the attorney general. We will see what happens. Time will tell. Time will tell."
During a separate interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump spoke about Sessions — who was the first senator to endorse Trump for president last year.
"It's not like a great loyal thing about the endorsement," Trump said. "I'm very disappointed in Jeff Sessions."
It was reported earlier Tuesday that Trump was considering firing Sessions from his post. He also trashed him during a recent New York Times interview.
Sessions, on the other hand, said last week he has no plans to resign.
Republican lawmakers and pundits have cautioned against Trump dismissing Sessions.