Parker: Trump’s list of fired and ‘formerlys’ continues to grow

Whatever Sessions’ hopes for the job, Trump apparently assumed that the attorney general would serve at his pleasure, regardless of what inconvenient ethics might preclude Sessions from also acting as the president’s personal defense attorney — that is, should any pre-emptive measures prove inadequate to thwart unwanted scrutiny.

Sessions’ recusal wasn’t only correct but probably unavoidable. It was revealed the day before his announcement that he had twice met with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in 2016, despite having said during his confirmation hearing that he hadn’t. Like so many others who joined the Trump White House, Sessions seemed to have forgotten the meetings.

Kislyak must be one forgettable fellow.

Testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sessions has said that his meetings with Kislyak, come to think of it, were routine and part of his activities as senator, not as campaign operative. Except for the fact that Sessions was part of the campaign at the time of those meetings, there’s no reason to doubt him.

Who’s next?

Trump seems less bothered that Sessions, Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner all have contradicted his claims that none of his campaign people had ever met with any Russians associated with the government than by the realization that Sessions isn’t protecting his backside.

In recent tweets, the president called the attorney general “beleaguered,” accused him of being “very weak” on Hillary Clinton (why now?), and questioned his competence, saying: “Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump campaign — ‘quietly working to boost Clinton.’ So where is the investigation A.G.” (Say this for Trump: He has resisted servitude to punctuation and grammar.)

In the latest in his series of off-the-cuff true confessions, Trump last week told The New York Times that he never would have nominated Sessions as attorney general had he known he’d recuse himself. Recall that he also said he fired Comey because of the Russia investigation.

Nobody ever accused the president of subtlety. The question now is, who’s next?

We’ll know soon enough, but Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price might want to keep his medical license current. As the Senate was preparing to vote again on the Obamacare repeal bill, Trump gave a rousing speech, saying he knew Price, who formerly sat on the House Ways and Means subcommittee on health, would get out there and get those votes.

If not, Trump quipped, “You’re fired!”

Poor Price.