The topsy-turvy developments Monday morning surrounding Rod Rosenstein's visit to the White House concluded with the fate of the deputy U.S. attorney general postponed until Thursday.
But the betting in Washington for Thursday remained the same as it was Monday: Either through resignation or firing by Trump, Rosenstein would be out and a new deputy attorney general would receive the anticipated report on Russian meddling in the 2016 election from special counsel Robert Mueller.
As it was Monday, there is expected to be increased press focus on a successor to Rosenstein as the No. 2 official at the Justice Department and the "most-likely-to-move-up" prospect remains Noel Francisco, Solicitor General and No. 3 in the hierarchy at the DOJ.
As Newsmax reported Monday, Francisco is a special favorite of conservatives because of his membership in the conservative Federalist Society and his background as a clerk to the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
Francisco is also a sharp critic about the law that permits special counsels such as Mueller.
The announcement Rosenstein would meet with White House chief of staff John Kelly sent chills through the correspondents who cover the president and the Trump administration.
Coverage of everything but Rosenstein suddenly stopped, as reporters and camera crews dared a heavy downpour to focus on the Executive Office Building (where Rosenstein was meeting with Kelly).
"Can you believe we stopped talking about [Supreme Court nominee Brett] Kavanaugh for two hours when this was going on?" a fellow White House correspondent deadpanned.
It turned out Rosenstein was filling in at a prearranged meeting with Kelly for his boss, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who was out of town Monday. Kelly escorted him out of his office and graciously said goodbye when their meeting was concluded.
As to how Rosenstein's meeting with the president will go, reporters agree on one thing: We will know Thursday.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.