Axios reports:
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has verbally resigned to Chief of Staff John Kelly in anticipation of being fired by President Trump, according to a source with direct knowledge. Per a second source with direct knowledge: “He’s expecting to be fired,” so he plans to step down. Rosenstein talked last year about invoking the 25th Amendment and wearing a wire during Trump meetings, the N.Y. Times’ Adam Goldman and Michael S. Schmidt reported last week. He denied both allegations.
UPDATE: From the New York Times.
It was not immediately clear whether he expected to be fired by Mr. Trump or whether he planned to resign. Justice Department officials said on Monday morning that he was on his way to the White House expecting to be fired. But over the weekend, Mr. Rosenstein called a White House official and said he was considering quitting, and a person close to the White House said he was resigning. It was also unclear whether Mr. Trump would accept a resignation that would likely thrust the administration into further turmoil just weeks before November’s midterm elections.
UPDATE II: From the Washington Post.
Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein has told White House officials he is willing to resign in the wake of revelations he once suggested secretly recording the president, but it’s unclear if the resignation has been accepted, according to people familiar with the matter. One Trump adviser said the president has not been pressuring Rosenstein to leave the job, but his resignation had been a topic of private discussions all weekend. The person said Rosenstein had expressed to others that he should resign because he “felt very compromised” and was now a potential witness in the Russia probe rather than a supervisor, according to a person close to Trump.
SCOOP: Rod Rosenstein has verbally resigned to John Kelly. https://t.co/EoJRxueXvI
— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) September 24, 2018
If Rosenstein is gone, the Mueller probe would be supervised by Noel Francisco, the solicitor general
— Jeremy Herb (@jeremyherb) September 24, 2018
Rosenstein resigns. Holy s—-
— Howard Dean (@GovHowardDean) September 24, 2018
This a minor silver lining but Rod Rosenstein resigning robs Trump of the momentum he would have gained by firing him.
Rosenstein jumping on a grenade just stole control of a news cycle Trump was poised to capitalize on.
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) September 24, 2018
.@PeteWilliamsNBC is reporting on @MSNBC that Rosenstein is heading to the WH. But that he *won’t resign,* according to Williams’ reporting.
Rosenstein will demand that if the WH wants him gone, they’ll have to fire him.
— Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) September 24, 2018