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 has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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