Aaron P. Bernstein / Reuters

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday submitted his resignation, marking a significant break — albeit one two years in the making — with President Donald Trump by one of his earliest and closest allies. Sessions offered his resignation via a letter hand-delivered to chief of staff John Kelly, writing that he did so at the president's request. "Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. President," Sessions wrote. Sessions’ resignation comes a day after the midterm elections, which was long seen as the expiration date for Sessions’ tenure as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer. Trump made clear his displeasure with Sessions early on, but wasn’t expected to make any major changes in his cabinet before the election. Trump later confirmed in a tweet that he had accepted Sessions’ resignation and thanked him for his service. An administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Kelly called Sessions before the president held a press conference midday Wednesday to ask for his resignation. Session’s chief of staff Matthew Whitaker will take over as acting attorney general while the White House seeks a permanent replacement, Trump tweeted shortly after Sessions’ letter became public. Whitaker, whose appointment became official on Wednesday, will take on oversight of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, assuming there are no ethical issues that would prevent him from doing so. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein — who was still in his job as of Wednesday afternoon — had taken on responsibility for the probe after Sessions recused himself last year. Rosenstein was at the White House on Wednesday afternoon for a previously scheduled meeting, according to an administration official. Whitaker, who joined the Justice Department as Sessions' chief of staff last year, had previously been a partisan political figure in Iowa — running for state treasurer in 2002 and US Senate in 2014, losing both times, and later serving as the campaign chair for Sam Clovis's run for state treasurer. In between his political runs, he served as the US attorney for the Southern District of Iowa for more than four years in the George W. Bush administration. "It is a true honor that the President has confidence in my ability to lead the Department of Justice as Acting Attorney General. I am committed to leading a fair Department with the highest ethical standards, that upholds the rule of law, and seeks justice for all Americans," Whitaker said in a statement released Wednesday evening. "Attorney General Sessions has been a dedicated public servant for over 40 years. It has been a privilege to work under his leadership. He is a man of integrity who has served this nation well." Whitaker was critical of the appointment of a special counsel in the Russia investigation and, after Mueller was appointed, has been critical of moves taken by his office and has recommended ways of limiting his reach. He did not address the Mueller investigation in his statement Wednesday night.

Under Justice Department regulations, Mueller can only be removed from office “for misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or for other good cause.” Sessions was the first sitting US senator to endorse Trump in the 2016 election, but over the next two years he became an object of the president's ire for his decision to recuse from the Russia investigation. Trump reportedly expressed his dismay in private at first, but his frustration spilled into the public sphere, with Trump openly, and repeatedly, criticizing Sessions to reporters and on Twitter.

US Department of Justice

In his letter to Trump, Sessions touted the department's prosecutions of violent offenders, focus on immigration enforcement, and efforts to combat the opioid epidemic. "Since the day I was honored to be sworn in as Attorney General of the United States, I came to work at the Department of Justice every day determined to do my duty and serve my country," Sessions wrote. "I have done so to the best of my ability, working to support the fundamental legal processes that the foundation of justice." The White House now faces the challenge of finding a nominee to replace Sessions in a far more politically fraught climate than when Trump announced Sessions as his choice in November 2016. Republicans kept their majority in the Senate, meaning any future nominee will face a politically friendly chamber, but potential nominees will have watched Trump publicly turn on Sessions for decisions the president didn’t like. The circumstances of Sessions’ departure could scare off qualified candidates who worry the administration won’t protect the Justice Department’s independence. Sessions left the Justice Department building at around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, accompanied by Whitaker, Rosenstein, Solicitor General Noel Francisco, and Joseph "Jody" Hunt, the head of the Civil Division who previously served as Sessions' chief of staff. Sessions shook hands with the four men, gave a thumbs up to the crowd of at least 150 applauding Justice Department employees who gathered to see him off, waved, and climbed into a black SUV.

Jeff Sessions has left the building. He exited to a crowd of at least 150 applauding DOJ employees. He shook hands with new acting AG Matt Whitaker, DAG Rod Rosenstein, SG Noel Francisco, and Civil Division head Jody Hunt. He gave a thumbs up and got into a waiting SUV https://t.co/JOmVlAs2vz @ZoeTillman via Twitter / Via Twitter: @ZoeTillman

In the months leading up to the midterm elections, Trump derided his attorney general in a series of interviews. In a Sept. 19 interview with Hill.TV, Trump said, “I don’t have an attorney general. It’s very sad.” And in an interview that aired on Fox News on Aug. 23, Trump again slammed Sessions for his decision to step away from involvement in the Russia probe, saying the reason he tapped Sessions for attorney general was because of his loyalty dating back to the campaign. He claimed Democrats are “very strong” at the Justice Department and that Sessions “never took control.” “I said, ‘What kind of a man is this?’” Trump said of Sessions’ decision to recuse. That criticism over the summer prompted Sessions’ strongest public pushback to date. In a statement at the time, Sessions said that he “took control of the Department of Justice the day I was sworn in, which is why we have had unprecedented success at effectuating the President’s agenda.” “While I am Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations. I demand the highest standards, and where they are not met, I take action. However, no nation has a more talented, more dedicated group of law enforcement investigators and prosecutors than the United States,” Sessions said. Trump routinely used Twitter to lash out against Sessions and the Justice Department. In late February, after Sessions announced that the Justice Department's inspector general would investigate allegations of abuse by the department in obtaining Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court warrants, Trump took to Twitter to complain about the move, calling it “DISGRACEFUL!”

Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc. Isn’t the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!

On April 2, in response to complaints from Republicans in Congress that the Justice Department wasn’t producing documents fast enough related to the Hillary Clinton email investigation and the firing of former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, Trump tweeted that it was “an embarrassment” and appeared to mock the department’s name, putting “Justice” in quotes.



So sad that the Department of “Justice” and the FBI are slow walking, or even not giving, the unredacted documents requested by Congress. An embarrassment to our country!

And in late May, following a New York Times report that Trump had tried to convince Sessions to reverse his decision to recuse last year, Trump tweeted that he wished he had chosen someone else to be attorney general.



....There are lots of really good lawyers in the country, he could have picked somebody else!” And I wish I did!