Acting attorney general tells Justice Department not to defend Trump immigration order

Justice Department lawyers have been told by acting Attorney General Sally Yates to not make legal arguments defending President Trump's executive order on refugees and immigration, CNN reports.

Yates is a career Justice Department official who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, and she does not believe the substance of the order is lawful, people close to the matter told CNN. Her order is only enforced while she is in office, and she will presumably be replaced by Trump's attorney general nominee, Jeff Sessions. There are already cases challenging Trump's order in Virginia, New York, Massachusetts, Washington, and California, and while Trump could fire Yates, she is the only person authorized to sign foreign surveillance warrants.

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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.