The US attorney general, Jeff Sessions, insisted on Thursday that he would continue in his job “as long as that is appropriate”, despite Donald Trump’s barrage of criticism of him. Trump had said in an interview published late Wednesday that he regretted giving him the job after Sessions recused himself from investigations into links with the Trump campaign and Russia. As he marked six months in office, the president appeared increasingly upset over Sessions stepping aside on the issue and Robert Mueller subsequently being appointed as the special counsel investigating possible ties between Trump and Russia.