Trump fires acting Attorney General Sally Yates
President Trump fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates just hours after she told Justice Department lawyers to not make legal arguments defending Trump's executive order on refugees and immigration.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer announced on Twitter Monday night that Trump has named Dana Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, as acting attorney general, and in a statement, the White House accused Yates of being "weak on borders" and said she "betrayed the Department of Justice."
Yates, a career Justice Department official who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, said in a letter she does not believe the substance of the order is lawful. There are already cases challenging Trump's order in Virginia, New York, Massachusetts, Washington, and California.
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Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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