Trump Fires Acting Attorney General, Head of Immigration

Staying true to his words, President Trump fired his acting attorney general on Monday after she defiantly refused to defend his immigration executive order, accusing the Democratic holdover of trying to obstruct his agenda for political reasons.

Taking action in an escalating crisis for his 10-day-old administration, Mr. Trump declared that Sally Q. Yates had “betrayed” the administration, the White House said in a statement. The president appointed Dana J. Boente, United States attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to serve as acting attorney general until Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama is confirmed.

Trump has also replaced the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday night, shortly after he fired the acting attorney general, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed.

Unlike the firing of Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, the replacement of Acting ICE Director Daniel Ragsdale came with no explanation. Ragsdale was replaced by Thomas Homan, ICE’s executive associate director of enforcement and removal operations since 2013.

“I am confident that he will continue to serve as a strong, effective leader for the men and women of ICE,” John Kelly, the secretary of Homeland Security, said in a brief statement.

Homan, a former New York police officer, is a 30-year veteran of immigration enforcement, having served as U.S. Border Patrol agent and deputy assistant director of ICE for investigations, according to DHS.