After just 10 days in the White House, Donald Trump got to use the phrase he is most known for: “You’re fired.”
Just hours after Acting Attorney General Sally Yates stood up to the new administration on Monday and blocked the Department of Justice from defending Trump’s new Muslim and refugee ban, the president quickly removed her from her post.
#Breaking: @realDonaldTrump replaced acting Attorney General Sally Yates with Dana Boente pic.twitter.com/4cJLeuSAZy
— POLITICO (@politico) January 31, 2017
The move by the Trump administration is unprecedented and they released a childish statement about Yates, saying she “betrayed” the Justice Department by refusing to enforce the ban and “is weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration.”
The full statement:
JUST IN: White House appoints Dana Boente as acting attorney general, says Sally Yates “has betrayed the Department of Justice” pic.twitter.com/EW3TM2tKcT
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) January 31, 2017
Yates’ replacement, Dana Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, has pledged to protect Trump’s order.
“I am honored to serve President Trump in this role until Senator Sessions is confirmed,” Boente said, according to a statement from the Trump administration. “I will defend and enforce the laws of our country to ensure that our people and our nation are protected.”
Early on Monday, outgoing Acting Attorney General Yates had questioned the legality of Trump’s immigration and refugee ban, saying she is “not convinced that the executive order is lawful” and will not defend it.
Not only is the president’s move to fire an attorney general in this fashion unusual, but it raises serious questions about how fair and independent the Department of Justice will be under the Trump administration.
