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Kelly, who was named chief of staff by Trump on Friday, phoned
Sessions on Saturday to reassure him the White House wanted him
to remain as head of the Justice Department, said the official,
who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The conversation was first reported by the Associated Press.
Kelly said Trump was still annoyed with Sessions' decision in
March to recuse himself from the investigation of alleged
Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and possible
collusion with the Trump campaign, but there had been "kind of a
thaw" in Trump's attitude toward him, according to the official.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request from
Reuters for comment.
The Kremlin says it did not interfere in the election, and Trump
has denied any collusion.
Last week, Trump assailed Sessions in a tweet as "very weak" and
said he was "very disappointed" with his attorney general in a
Wall Street Journal interview.
When asked at a news conference last week about Sessions'
future, Trump replied: "Time will tell. Time will tell."
Republican lawmakers rallied to the defense of Sessions, a
former U.S. senator from Alabama, and Trump has not mentioned
him in tweets in recent days.
(Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Eric Beech; Editing by
Peter Cooney)
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