'You're Fired!' Trump Dumps Acting AG Who 'Betrayed' the DoJ

"They should either get with the program or they can go."

1.31.2017

President Donald Trump handed acting Attorney General Sally Yates her walking papers Monday night after she instructed Justice Department attorneys to refuse to defend the President's recent executive refugee and immigration order.

Fox News reports that Yates, an Obama-era holdover, had stated in a memo earlier Monday that she was "not convinced" that Trump's order was lawful, and that it did not meet the department's obligation to "always seek justice and stand for what is right."

A White House statement said that Yates had "betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat who publicly cried about Trump's executive order temporarily barring immigration and refugee entry from seven Middle Eastern nations with ties to terrorism, said in a statement that Yates' firing "underscores how important it is to have an Attorney General who will stand up to the White House when they are violating the law.

"The Attorney General should be loyal and pledge fidelity to the law, not the White House," he said. "The fact that this administration doesn’t understand that is chilling." Schumer went on to call Yates a "profile in courage."

In between Botox appointments, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi released a statement declaring that Yates was "fired for upholding the Constitution of the United States" -- as if Pelosi or any other Democrat cares about upholding the Constitution.

"What the Trump Administration calls betrayal is an American with the courage to say that the law and the Constitution come first," Pelosi said. Her hypocrisy is so stunning that even Pelosi herself can't believe it, which might account for her permanent expression of surprise.

As for any other American officials who expressed opposition to the order, Press Secretary Sean Spicer bluntly stated, "They should either get with the program or they can go."

Dana Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, was sworn in Monday evening to replace Yates until the Senate confirmation of Sen. Jeff Sessions, Trump's nominee for attorney general.

"I am honored to serve President Trump in this role until Senator Sessions is confirmed,"Boente said in a statement. "I will defend and enforce the laws of our country to ensure that our people and our nation are protected."

Boente instructed Justice Department lawyers to disregard Yates' previous memo and to "defend the lawful orders of our President."