US President Donald Trump fired top federal government lawyer Sally Yates on Monday after she took the extraordinary rare step of defying the White House and refused to defend new travel restrictions targeting seven Muslim-majority nations. The White House press office said in a statement that Yates “has betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States.” The statement called MS Yates an Obama administration appointee “who is weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration.” According to the reports, 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. Guardian reported that Yates, an appointee of former Democratic President Barack Obama, was days away from being replaced by Trump’s pick for the top spot at the Justice Department, Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, who is awaiting Senate confirmation. The White House said that Dana Boente, US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, was sworn in at 9 p.m. ET and would be acting US attorney general until Sessions is approved.
Follow TKG on Twitter & Facebook
