Senate minority
leader Chuck Schumer praises the actions of acting attorney general
Sally Yates who was fired by Donald Trump for her opposition to the
executive order restricting travel from seven Muslim-majority
nations. ‘It was a profile in courage, it was a brave act and a
right act,’ he says. Schumer urges the president to think through
his polices and consult departmental chiefs. ‘How can you run a
country like this?’ he says, adding: ‘We cannot have a Twitter
presidency’
Trump
fires Sally Yates after acting attorney general contradicted travel
ban
White
House says Obama appointee ‘betrayed’ state department with
letter instructing officials not to enforce president’s executive
order
David Smith and Ben
Jacobs in Washington and Spencer Ackerman in New York
Tuesday 31 January
2017 05.53 GMT
Donald Trump has
fired the acting US attorney general after she told justice
department lawyers not to defend his executive order banning entry
for people from seven Muslim-majority countries.
The White House said
on Monday that Sally Yates had “betrayed” the department by
refusing to enforce a legal order that was “designed to protect the
citizens of the United States”.
Trump drafted in
Dana Boente, US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia, to
replace Yates as acting attorney general. The president’s official
appointee, anti-immigration hardliner Senator Jeff Sessions, is yet
to be confirmed by the Senate.
As the country’s
top law enforcement official, Yates, who was appointed by Barack
Obama, had control over the justice department’s immigration
litigation office, which has handled the federal complaints filed
against Trump’s order since his bombshell policy was announced on
Friday.
“I am responsible
for ensuring that the positions we take in court remain consistent
with this institution’s solemn obligation to always seek justice
and stand for what is right,” Yates wrote in a letter to justice
department lawyers. “At present I am not convinced that the defense
of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities nor
am I convinced that the executive order is lawful.”
The action earned
praise from immigration activists and Democrats but within three
hours Yates was gone.
A statement from the
White House press secretary’s office said: “Ms Yates is an Obama
administration appointee who is weak on borders and very weak on
illegal immigration.
“It is time to get
serious about protecting our country. Calling for tougher vetting for
individuals travelling from seven dangerous places is not extreme. It
is reasonable and necessary to protect our country.”
Trump had “relieved
Ms Yates of her duties” and Boente would take over until Sessions’s
confirmation by the Senate “where he is being wrongly held up by
Democrat senators for strictly political reasons”.
Sessions, a longtime
Trump ally, has drawn vocal opposition from liberal groups.
The White House
statement quoted Boente as saying: “I am honored to serve President
Trump in this role until Senator Sessions is confirmed. I will defend
and enforce the laws of our country to ensure that our people and our
nation are protected.”
The president’s
swift action was praised by his supporters. Newt Gingrich drew
parallels with reality TV show The Apprentice. “Trump practiced
‘you’re fired’ for years,” the former House Speaker tweeted.
“Today he applied it to an insubordinate acting [attorney] general.
Congratulations.”
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