Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein apparently isn’t going anywhere yet, after rumors swirled Monday morning that he was about to resign or be fired in a dramatic White House showdown.

One reason such close attention is being paid to Rosenstein is that he oversees special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

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When Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the special counsel’s Russian investigation last year, Rosenstein took over many of the responsibilities. If Rosenstein is to depart, Solicitor General Noel Francisco would take over those duties — not whoever replaces Rosenstein as Deputy Attorney General, according to legal expert and Stanford Law professor Anne Joseph O’Connell.

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O’Connell said she believes a firing would be cause to utilize the Vacancies Act, citing a guidance memorandum from the Agency General Counsels that notes senators said an officer would be “otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office” if he or she were fired, imprisoned, or sick, during floor debates of the legislation.

“No court’s going to want to get into” discrepancies between coerced resignations and firings, she added.

There is opportunity for misuse of the Federal Vacancies Act, O’Connell said. But Trump would not be the first to rely on the law for executive agency positions. O’Connell directed her research to the legislation when former President Barack Obama was in office.