WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan effort to protect the job of special counsel Robert Mueller has been taken down by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The Senate's top Republican says the bill is not necessary because President Donald Trump isn't going to fire Mueller. Trump allies have been urging the president to fire Mueller, and the president has mused publicly about doing so.

Four senators, two Republicans and two Democrats, introduced their bill last week as Trump publicly criticized Mueller. The special counsel is investigating potential ties between Russia and Trump's 2016 campaign as well as possible obstruction of justice by the president.

The bill has drawn widespread opposition among Senate Republicans, with several saying it's unconstitutional. Others say it's simply not good politics to try and tell Trump what to do.

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