• Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert said Robert Mueller should be fired from his position as head of the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.
  • Gohmert then slightly walked back his comments.
  • He said Mueller should not be fired “in actuality” because of potential impeachment efforts against President Donald Trump.

WASHINGTON – Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert said President Donald Trump should fire Robert Mueller, the former FBI director tasked with heading the special counsel investigating attempts by the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Gohmert, a far-right conservative from Texas, told reporters on Wednesday that he thinks Mueller should be fired, breaking with congressional leaders and those advising the president.

“I think Mueller should be fired. He should be,” Gohmert said. “He should never have been. He should never have been appointed and he should have never accepted. He should be fired.”

Moments later, Gohmert backtracked on whether Mueller should be ousted, citing concerns from others that it would prompt a constitutional crisis that could ultimately lead to an impeachment effort.

"And the only reason that I think he should not be in actuality fired is because we have some establishment Republicans in the House and Senate that say 'Oh gee if he were to fire Mueller, you know that might - we might need to impeach the president,'" he said. "Even one senator's saying that may be an impeachable offense. No it's not."

Gohmert added that Mueller has "done enough damage" and "needs to go."

"But the only reason that he's not going and the president's not gonna fire him and that I'm not calling for him to be fired now - he should be, he really should," he said. "But I'm not calling for him to be fired because of all the establishment Republicans that think they'd have to come after Trump if he were to fire him."

Gohmert's comments differed from his Republican colleagues in the meeting with reporters. Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, who previously chaired the influential House Freedom Caucus, said he agreed with "where the White House is" on the issue.

"The White House has said that they think Mueller should complete his investigation," Jordan said. "I do think it would make sense if it would get done some time soon so we can get on with other important matters..."