WASHINGTON — Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, fired by President Donald Trump, has told others she refused to enforce his executive order on refugees because she felt it was intended to disadvantage Muslims, according to a person familiar with her thinking.
Yates knew that her firing was likely, but she did not want to resign and leave the problem unresolved, according to the person, who is familiar with the situation but was not authorized to discuss it by name. The person spoke about Yates to The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Trump fired Yates Monday night in an abrupt move that has sent a clear message to his future Cabinet about his tolerance for public dissent.
The president will soon have in place like-minded political appointees, not officials inherited from the Obama administration like Yates, who refused to allow the Justice Department to defend his immigration orders in court. And the Trump appointees surely will be less inclined to publicly disagree with him.
But his haste in firing a top holdover official, his spokesman’s admonishment that career employees should “either get with the program or go” and Trump’s comments about issues he wants federal prosecutors to investigate all illustrate how he moves aggressively to ensure his directives are carried out, even at agencies like the Justice Department that cherish their independence.
Over the decades, there has “been respect for the independence of the Justice Department as a law enforcement agency,” said Bill Baer, a high-ranking department official during the Obama administration. “There is reason for grave concern that the incoming president views the Justice Department just as another political weapon to go after people who disagree with him.”
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Yates was “rightfully removed” from “a position of leadership that is given to someone who is supposed to execute orders that are handed down to them properly.” While every American has the right to express an opinion, he said, the attorney general is “required to execute lawful orders.”
A scheduled Senate committee vote on Sen. Jeff Sessions, Trump’s nominee for the Cabinet post, was postponed Tuesday. Democrats cited the firing as a basis for the delay and some said they had no confidence Sessions would be able to stand up to Trump.
Indeed, the public clash between a president and his chief law enforcement officer over the legality of an important policy could affect the willingness of Sessions, or any other cabinet officer, to challenge Trump.