“There is no relationship between the president and Sessions,” one Republican strategist close to the White House told The Hill. “That’s because Trump values his friendships based on loyalty and obedience — and Sessions is perceived as neither in his current position.”

The strategist argued that this view was “very unfair” to the attorney general but added that it looked like Sessions “has decided to stick it out.”…

Complicating the calculus further, some Republican senators — many of whom are former colleagues of Sessions, who represented Alabama in the upper chamber for 20 years — are said to have made it known that they would be reluctant to confirm any replacement for Sessions if he were ousted.