Cillizza: Trump Wants Sessions Gone, but Doesn't Want to Fire Him

President Donald Trump clearly wants a new attorney general but doesn't want to fire Jeff Sessions to get there — he wants Sessions to quit, says CNN's Chris Cillizza.

Trump's latest salvo against Sessions came Monday in a tweet, complaining that his own "beleaguered" attorney general wasn't investigating Hillary Clinton for her ties to Russia.

Given that the only reason Sessions is beleaguered is because the president keeps pummeling him, and there can be only one conclusion:

"Add it up and here's what you get: Trump wants Sessions gone," Cillizza wrote. "But he doesn't want to swing the proverbial sword. He wants to make Sessions' life so uncomfortable that Sessions throws up his hands and walks away."

Fox News' Judge Andrew Napolitano was the first to proffer that notion last week.

Then came a report later Monday that Trump is considering Rudy Guiliani for attorney general.

"Sessions hasn't responded to this latest Trump volley. But, at this point, it is very tough for Sessions to simply ignore the message coming out of the White House. And that message is: We want you gone. So, go," Cillizza wrote.

• Krauthammer: 'Only a Matter of Time' Before Sessions Quits
• Ex-CIA Officer Robert Baer: Sessions Should Resign