Trump says he would fire special counsel Jack Smith ‘within 2 seconds’ of taking office. Technically, he can’t

In an interview Thursday on “The Hugh Hewitt Show,” Trump was asked whether he’d first pardon himself or terminate Smith to remove the legal cloud hanging over him as he seeks to reclaim the presidency.
He responded that the decision was “so easy” and that “I would fire him within two seconds.”
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Trump can order the Justice Department to remove Smith though he would technically not be able to do it himself since Smith isn’t a presidential appointee and was instead named to the post by Attorney General Merrick Garland.
When he was investigated by a special counsel as president, Trump urged his then-White House counsel, Don McGahn, to press the Justice Department for Robert Mueller’s termination but McGahn refused and Mueller remained in his position.
Smith has brought two federal cases against Trump. One, accusing him of illegally retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, was dismissed in July. The other, charging him with plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election, has been delayed by a Supreme Court opinion conferring broad immunity on former presidents.