(Bloomberg) -- Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Special Counsel Robert Mueller to investigate Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election, is expected to leave the Justice Department after a new attorney general is confirmed, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein has no concrete plans to depart and will stay on to help with the transition, said the person who asked not to be named. He isn’t being forced out and there’s a slight chance he could stay on longer, the person said.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said President Donald Trump isn’t trying to push out Rosenstein, adding that he is probably “making room” for Trump’s attorney general nominee William Barr. ABC News reported that Rosenstein has told Trump and others that he plans to depart in the coming weeks, probably once the Senate confirms a new Justice Department chief.

Ahead of Barr’s Senate confirmation hearing next week, top Justice Department officials have sought to downplay his previous argument that the president can’t be investigated for obstructing justice. Key Senate Democrats have questioned whether he can objectively oversee Mueller’s probe in light of that position and his expansive views on executive power generally.

Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, who Trump named in November, now has ultimate authority over Mueller and the investigation. However, Rosenstein has continued to be the main Justice Department official to interact with Mueller and receive updates on the investigation.

Sanders said there’s no willingness by the White House to force out Rosenstein, who she said has “a great deal of respect” for Barr, adding that they have a “great relationship.”

Barr was nominated in December to run the Justice Department after Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned at the request of Trump, according to a letter delivered to the White House. Sessions had become a target of the president’s open contempt for recusing himself from the Russia investigation in 2017. Soon after, Rosenstein named Mueller as special counsel.

After ousting Sessions, Trump installed Whitaker, chief of staff at the Justice Department, as acting attorney general, which put him in charge of the Russia probe. Whitaker, a critic of Mueller’s investigation, now has the power to fire the special counsel or curb his inquiry.

If confirmed, Barr would be in charge of Mueller, unless he too recused himself.

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