The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Thursday that a bill intended to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller from being fired should get a Senate vote.
The remarks by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, represented a split from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who said a day earlier that said he did not want the proposal to be considered by the full Senate.
The Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act, passed by the Judiciary Committee in April on a 14-7 vote, requires unanimous support. If passed, the bill would mandate that the special counsel can be fired only for good cause by a Senate-confirmed Justice Department official. A judge would then have 10 days to decide whether the firing fell under the legislation’s criteria for good cause and stop the firing if necessary.
Grassley on Thursday said he supported the bill being brought to the Senate floor, the Hill reported.
“It’s legitimate that the bill be brought up,” Grassley said. “It would satisfy me if it became law because I voted for it.” – READ MORE