Barr will resign a month before Trump leaves office

Attorney General William Barr submitted his resignation Monday, indicating he'll leave the White House on Dec. 23, President Trump announced in a tweet.
Trump said Barr was leaving to spend the holidays with his family, though the loyalist had reportedly fallen out of favor with Trump after affirming there was no significant fraud in the 2020 election. Still, Barr's resignation letter was nothing but flattering to Trump, complimenting how he delivered "unprecedented achievements ... in the face of relentless, implacable resistance."
Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen will become acting attorney general, Trump said. It was reported last week that Barr would resign before President-elect Joe Biden was sworn in, and had been discussing an early departure since Biden's win.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Trump pauses Ukraine intelligence sharing
Speed Read The decision is intended to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rules against Trump on aid freeze
Speed Read The court rejected the president's request to freeze nearly $2 billion in payments for foreign humanitarian work
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'If you keep people permanently unhappy, you cannot have a stable society'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Arab leaders embrace Egypt's Gaza rebuilding plan
Speed Read The $53 billion proposal would rebuild Gaza without displacing Palestinian residents
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Germany's conservatives win power amid far-right gains
Speed Read The party led by Friedrich Merz won the country's national election; the primary voter issues were the economy and immigration
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Russia frees US teacher Marc Fogel in murky 'exchange'
Speed Read He was detained in Moscow for carrying medically prescribed marijuana
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Hamas pauses Gaza hostage release, upending ceasefire
Speed Read Hamas postponed the next scheduled hostage release 'until further notice,' accusing Israel of breaking the terms of their ceasefire deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Baltic States unplug from Russian grid, join EU's
Speed Read Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are disconnecting from the Soviet-era electricity grid to join the EU's network
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
At least 11 killed in Sweden adult ed school shooting
Speed Read The worst mass shooting in Swedish history took place in Orebro
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff Published
-
Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Thailand
Speed Read The law grants same-sex spouses the same rights as married heterosexual couples
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published