Lindsey Graham on Whitaker as Permanent Attorney General: ‘I Don’t Know if He’s the Best Choice’

While President Donald Trump‘s appointment of Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker stirs controversy, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) refused to say whether he supported him as a permanent replacement for Jeff Sessions.

In a Meet the Press interview Sunday, Graham told host Chuck Todd it was “too early to tell” whether he could back Whitaker if Trump nominates him for the long term.

“He said some things that would probably be problematic to be confirmed but having said that, I was very impressed with his attitude, his professionalism, and he’s got a very solid resume,” Graham said. “So I would encourage the president to pick somebody fairly soon, so we can have a permanent attorney general going into the first part of next year.”

Asked whether that meant he didn’t want to see Whitaker nominated, Graham suggested that despite his uncertainty, he could be open to the idea, and has “nothing against him.”

“I don’t know if he’s the best choice,” the senator added. “You hear about Mr. Barr, former attorney general, that’s a good choice. There are a lot of good names out there I would just encourage the president to start 2019 as soon as we can with a new attorney general that he has confidence in and we can get confirmed.”

Graham also expressed confidence in Whitaker to stay out of the way of Special Counsel Robert Mueller‘s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, something which has been a legitimate concern since Whitaker has shown opposition to the investigation.

“It would be a disaster for the Republican party for the Mueller investigation to be terminated or shut down or played with,” Graham said. “As close to the end, let’s see what he finds.”

Watch the clip above via Meet the Press.