WASHINGTON _ Even before he announces his choice for a new FBI director, President Trump is getting pushback from the Senate, which will need to approve his pick to replace the fired James Comey.
Democrats say they may try to block Trump's nominee, whomever it might be; a leading Republican and many Democrats say the appointee shouldn't be a political figure.
At least eight candidates have been interviewed for the post, which was vacated when Trump fired Comey last week. Trump, who leaves the U.S. Friday on his first international trip as president, said it was possible he might make a "fast decision" and announce a choice before he departs.
One leading contender is Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, but a senior Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, warned against picking an elected official because the issues surrounding the appointment are so highly charged.
"John Cornyn under normal circumstances would be a superb choice to be FBI director, but these are not normal circumstances," Graham said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."
"The president has a chance to clean up the mess that he mostly created," Graham said, referring to the many explanations offered by Trump and his staff for Comey's firing.
The Republicans, with 52 seats, control the 100-member Senate. But if three of them defect, the nomination would fail.
Democrats have raised an outcry over the dismissal of Comey, who as FBI director was in charge of the investigation into Russian meddling in the U.S. election. Critics say Comey's ouster could be an effort to impede the FBI investigation.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York, on CNN's "State of the Union," said Democrats might seek to block approval of Trump's nominee to express strong disapproval over the circumstances of Comey's removal.
"I think there are a lot of Democrats who feel that way," Schumer said. "We have to discuss it as a caucus, but I would support that move."
Schumer and other senior Democrats continued to demand clarity from the White House on whether Trump recorded conversations he had with Comey this year.
The president, in a Twitter post Friday, wrote that Comey "better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations." White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Friday repeatedly declined to say whether such recordings exist.
Trump said in his dismissal letter to Comey that the director had informed him on three separate occasions that he was not under investigation _ once at a private dinner and twice in phone conversations, he said in an NBC interview. Comey associates have cast doubt on that account.
"If there are tapes, the president should turn them over immediately" to congressional investigators," Schumer said. "To destroy them would be a violation of law."
