President Trump Fires Acting Attorney General Sally Yates Over Travel Ban Defiance
On January 30, 2017, President Donald Trump fired Acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates hours after she publicly questioned the constitutionality of his executive order on immigration and instructed Justice Department lawyers not to defend it. The dismissal marked a dramatic confrontation between the new administration and the Justice Department’s top official, who had been serving since the Obama administration.
Yates had issued a memo earlier that day stating she was not convinced the executive order, which suspended the admission of refugees and temporarily banned travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries, was lawful. She directed Justice Department attorneys not to present arguments in defense of the executive order, writing that she was not persuaded that doing so would be “consistent with this institution’s solemn obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right.”
The White House strongly objected to Yates’ refusal, maintaining that the executive order was both legal and necessary for national security. In a statement regarding her termination, the administration declared that Yates had “betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States.” Administration officials argued that the President possesses broad statutory authority under federal law to restrict the entry of foreign nationals when it is in the national interest. The White House statement further criticized the Acting Attorney General, describing her as “weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration.”
Following the dismissal, the White House appointed Dana Boente, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to serve as Acting Attorney General until Senator Jeff Sessions could be confirmed by the Senate. Boente subsequently rescinded Yates’ directive and instructed the Justice Department to defend the immigration ban in court.
