Democratic Rep. Denny Heck (Wash.) on Friday mocked President Trump’s campaign promise to bring jobs back to the U.S., saying the president has instead boosted employment for lawyers.
“I think the president has placed an incredible emphasis on jobs, jobs, jobs this week — think about all the lawyers that got hired this week,” Heck told MSNBC’s Katy Tur, referring to the robust legal teams that have grown in light of the Russia probe.
“[Vice President] Mike Pence hired a lawyer, everybody else is hiring a lawyer. Former Director [Robert] Mueller has hired 13 lawyers. He promised during the campaign to create jobs and he is. This is the attorney full employment act,” Heck said.
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Democrats have tweaked the Trump administration as news about the Russia probes and fallout over former FBI Director James Comey’s firing last month have shadowed the White House’s agenda the past two weeks.
Heck’s comments Friday came as speculation mounted over Trump’s next steps regarding the special counsel investigating his campaign’s possible ties to Russia, which Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed last month.
Trump appeared to lash out at Rosenstein in a Friday morning tweet, saying he was “being investigated” for firing Comey “by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director.”
Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller as special counsel to lead the federal probe into Russia’s interference in the election, an investigation that Trump has long characterized as unnecessary and has recently labeled a “witch hunt.”
“First there was Michael Flynn and Sally Yates and Jim Comey, all fired. Jeff Sessions recused himself. Mr. Rosenstein is considering recusing himself,” Heck said Friday.
“Evidently the White House is considering firing Mueller. For the love of god, can we get back to the original thing that was proposed, the independent commission, and get away from all these entanglements?” he said.
Both parties largely backed the appointment of a special counsel last month to oversee the federal Russia probe, an issue that is also being investigated by several congressional committees.