A Republican senator said Sunday that a conservative should run against US President Donald Trump for the party's presidential nomination in 2020.

Jeff Flake, a vocal critic of the president, said he did not think he would run but that someone else should.

"I have said all along that somebody needs to run on the Republican side, if nothing else, to remind Republicans what it means to be conservative, what being a conservative really means, and what it means to be decent as well," he said in an interview with CNN's "State of the Union."

Flake, who is leaving the Senate in January, warned that in his state of Arizona, a Republican bastion in the past, voters are rejecting candidates "tied at the hip with the president."

"And I think that we're seeing that elsewhere in the country as well. We're losing the suburbs," he said. "If we had a mass movement from the suburbs for people to move back to rural areas, then perhaps our Republican Party would have more of a future -- but not the way that we're going now."

Democrat Kyrsten Sinema was elected in this month's midterms to the Senate seat Flake is vacating, defeating Martha McSally, a former air force pilot who embraced Trump. &nbsp;

Trump has said he is "100 per cent" certain he will run for a second four-year term in 2020.

A Republican senator said Sunday that a conservative should run against US President Donald Trump for the party's presidential nomination in 2020. Jeff Flake, a vocal critic of the president, said he did not think he would run but that someone else should.

A Republican senator said Sunday that a conservative should run against US President Donald Trump for the party's presidential nomination in 2020. Jeff Flake, a vocal critic of the president, said he did not think he would run but that someone else should. "I have said all along that somebody needs to run on the Republican side, if nothing else, to remind Republicans what it means to be conservative, what being a conservative really means, and what it means to be decent as well," he said in an interview with CNN's "State of the Union." Flake, who is leaving the Senate in January, warned that in his state of Arizona, a Republican bastion in the past, voters are rejecting candidates "tied at the hip with the president." "And I think that we're seeing that elsewhere in the country as well. We're losing the suburbs," he said. "If we had a mass movement from the suburbs for people to move back to rural areas, then perhaps our Republican Party would have more of a future -- but not the way that we're going now." Democrat Kyrsten Sinema was elected in this month's midterms to the Senate seat Flake is vacating, defeating Martha McSally, a former air force pilot who embraced Trump. Trump has said he is "100 per cent" certain he will run for a second four-year term in 2020.

Republican urges conservatives to run against Donald Trump in 2020

Republican senators warned President Donald Trump on Sunday against firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller and said he must let federal investigators looking into Russian meddling in the US election do their jobs.

The Republican president has renewed his Twitter attacks on both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Mueller&#39;s probe since the firing on Friday of the bureau&#39;s former deputy director, Andrew McCabe, days before he was eligible to retire with a full pension.

Republican Senator Jeff Flake, who has criticized Trump, said it appeared the president&#39;s latest comments were aimed at the firing of Mueller.

&quot;I don&#39;t know what the designs are on Mueller, but it seems to be building toward that, and I just hope it doesn&#39;t go there, because it can&#39;t. We can&rsquo;t in Congress accept that,&quot; Flake told CNN&#39;s &quot;State of the Union.&quot;

&quot;So I would expect to see considerable pushback in the next couple of days urging the president not to go there. He can&rsquo;t go there.&quot;

In a series of tweets over the weekend, Trump accused the FBI leadership of lies, corruption and leaking information. He called the Russia probe a politically motivated witch hunt.

&quot;The Mueller probe should never have been started in that there was no collusion and there was no crime,&quot; Trump said on Saturday. On Sunday, he attacked former FBI Director James Comey and McCabe, top officials who were involved in the Russia probe and subsequently fired.

On Saturday, Trump personal lawyer John Dowd urged the Justice Department official overseeing Mueller, Rod Rosenstein, to &quot;bring an end to alleged Russia Collusion investigation manufactured by McCabe&#39;s boss James Comey.&quot;

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said it was very important that Mueller be allowed to proceed without interference and that many Republicans share this view.

&quot;The only reason Mr. Mueller could ever be dismissed is for cause. I see no cause when it comes to Mr. Mueller,&quot; Graham said on CNN. &quot;I pledge to the American people as a Republican, to ensure that Mr. Mueller can continue to do his job without any interference.&quot;

&quot;As I have said before, if he tried to do that, that would be the beginning of the end of his presidency, because we&rsquo;re a rule of law nation,&quot; Graham said.

Senator Angus King, an independent, also warned Trump against trying to fire Mueller.

&quot;This is a serious investigation, and if the president tries to terminate it prematurely, I think it will be a true constitutional crisis,&quot; he said on CBS.

Trump also drew criticism from fellow Republicans on Sunday over the firing of McCabe, who said he believed he was targeted because he corroborated Comey&#39;s claims that Trump tried to pressure Comey into killing the Russia probe.

&quot;I don&#39;t like the way it happened. He should&#39;ve been allowed to finish through the weekend,&quot; Senator Marco Rubio said on NBC&#39;s &quot;Meet the Press.&quot;

Rubio, who supports the special counsel probe, said the decision to fire McCabe was made before the release of the Justice Department inspector general&#39;s report that Attorney General Jeff Sessions cited in his dismissal.

Flake said the Senate Judiciary Committee would look at the report, which Sessions said concluded McCabe leaked information to reporters and misled investigators about his actions.

&quot;I&rsquo;m just puzzled by why the White House is going so hard at this, other than that they&rsquo;re very afraid of what might come out,&quot; he said on CNN.

Republican Senator Jeff Flake, who has criticized Trump, said it appeared the president's latest comments were aimed at the firing of Mueller.

Republican senators warned President Donald Trump on Sunday against firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller and said he must let federal investigators looking into Russian meddling in the US election do their jobs. The Republican president has renewed his Twitter attacks on both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Mueller's probe since the firing on Friday of the bureau's former deputy director, Andrew McCabe, days before he was eligible to retire with a full pension. Republican Senator Jeff Flake, who has criticized Trump, said it appeared the president's latest comments were aimed at the firing of Mueller. "I don't know what the designs are on Mueller, but it seems to be building toward that, and I just hope it doesn't go there, because it can't. We can’t in Congress accept that," Flake told CNN's "State of the Union." "So I would expect to see considerable pushback in the next couple of days urging the president not to go there. He can’t go there." In a series of tweets over the weekend, Trump accused the FBI leadership of lies, corruption and leaking information. He called the Russia probe a politically motivated witch hunt. "The Mueller probe should never have been started in that there was no collusion and there was no crime," Trump said on Saturday. On Sunday, he attacked former FBI Director James Comey and McCabe, top officials who were involved in the Russia probe and subsequently fired. On Saturday, Trump personal lawyer John Dowd urged the Justice Department official overseeing Mueller, Rod Rosenstein, to "bring an end to alleged Russia Collusion investigation manufactured by McCabe's boss James Comey." Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said it was very important that Mueller be allowed to proceed without interference and that many Republicans share this view. "The only reason Mr. Mueller could ever be dismissed is for cause. I see no cause when it comes to Mr. Mueller," Graham said on CNN. "I pledge to the American people as a Republican, to ensure that Mr. Mueller can continue to do his job without any interference." "As I have said before, if he tried to do that, that would be the beginning of the end of his presidency, because we’re a rule of law nation," Graham said. Senator Angus King, an independent, also warned Trump against trying to fire Mueller. "This is a serious investigation, and if the president tries to terminate it prematurely, I think it will be a true constitutional crisis," he said on CBS. Trump also drew criticism from fellow Republicans on Sunday over the firing of McCabe, who said he believed he was targeted because he corroborated Comey's claims that Trump tried to pressure Comey into killing the Russia probe. "I don't like the way it happened. He should've been allowed to finish through the weekend," Senator Marco Rubio said on NBC's "Meet the Press." Rubio, who supports the special counsel probe, said the decision to fire McCabe was made before the release of the Justice Department inspector general's report that Attorney General Jeff Sessions cited in his dismissal. Flake said the Senate Judiciary Committee would look at the report, which Sessions said concluded McCabe leaked information to reporters and misled investigators about his actions. "I’m just puzzled by why the White House is going so hard at this, other than that they’re very afraid of what might come out," he said on CNN.

US Republicans to Trump: Let Mueller do his job

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Republican urges conservatives to run against Donald Trump in 2020

US Republicans to Trump: Let Mueller do his job