Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe on Thursday made a final pitch to the Justice Department about why he should not be fired just 72 hours before his retirement, leaving Attorney General Jeff Sessions to decide the matter with a deadline rapidly approaching.

McCabe did not meet with Sessions, who was traveling Thursday, but with other senior officials, including Scott Schools, the most senior career attorney in the department. He arrived around 1 p.m. and departed four hours later.

The decision could be consequential for McCabe’s financial future, as if he is fired, he could lose significant retirement benefits. The FBI office that handles employee discipline has recommended terminating the former deputy director over accusations he authorized disclosing sensitive information to a reporter and then lied about it. Because of McCabe’s seniority, the decision is Sessions’s to make.