Attorney General Jeff Sessions has resigned at the request of President Donald Trump, one day after the 2018 midterm elections. Sessions and Trump have repeatedly sparred, mainly over Session's decision to recuse himself from overseeing Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation.
President Trump announced that Matthew G. Whitaker will act as the interim Attorney General until a permanent replacement is nominated.
We are pleased to announce that Matthew G. Whitaker, Chief of Staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the Department of Justice, will become our new Acting Attorney General of the United States. He will serve our Country well....
....We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well! A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date.
In Sessions' letter to Trump, he said that he has "been honored to serve as Attorney General and have worked to implement the law enforcement agenda based on the rule of law."
"Most importantly, in my time as Attorney General we have restored and upheld the rule of law - a glorious tradition that each of us has a responsibility to safeguard. We have operated with integrity and have lawfully and aggressively advanced the policy agenda of this administration."
Just hours before Sessions' resignation, Trump deflected questions about changes to his cabinet during a press conference at the White House.
“I’m very happy with most of my Cabinet.," Trump said. "We’re looking at different people for different positions. You know, it’s very common after the midterms. I didn’t want to do anything before the midterms, but I will tell you that for the most part, I’m extremely happy with my Cabinet.”
Photo: Getty Images