GOP senator accuses Trump of eroding 'trust in our institutions’ after abrupt Comey firing

Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse (R) delicately took a shot Sunday morning at President Donald Trump's shocking decision to fire FBI Director James Comey, saying the timing of the president's decision would only increase distrust of the government.

Appearing on Face the Nation, the Republican told CBS host John Dickerson that there were plenty of reasons for Comey to be dismissed -- including his "clunky handling" of an investigation into then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton prior to the 2016 election. However, Sasse said the timing of Trump's firing of Comey opened up questions about how Trump arrives at his presidential decisions.

Saying he has been critical of Trump's handling of the Comey firing, Sasse claimed "it exacerbates the erosion of trust in our institutions."

"I'm disappointed in the timing of the firing," Sasse continued. "But I want to preserve room that there are lots of reasonable reasons why people across the political spectrum can argue about how the FBI leadership conducted its business in the 2016 election cycle."

Sasse, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, added that he is worried about "politicization" at the Justice Department and was interested in hearing from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to explain "how this all happened."

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