She also echoed Biden's campaign-trail refrain that America cannot afford a second term of Trump's presidency, saying: "At the end of eight years, I fear that we will not recognize the nation that we have become."

Trump removed Yates from her post in January 2017 after she instructed Justice Department attorneys not to defend his executive order blocking immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries. She has since emerged as a vocal critic of the administration.

The president has also blasted Yates on Twitter, targeting her after her appearance before Congress in May 2017, when she testified regarding her role in the ousting of former national security adviser Michael Flynn. "Sally Yates made the fake media extremely unhappy today — she said nothing but old news!" Trump wrote at the time.

Yates is one of several former Obama administration officials to endorse Biden in the 2020 race, along with former Secretary of State John Kerry, former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, former national security adviser Susan Rice and others.

The announcement from Yates, a Georgia native, comes ahead of the state's Democratic presidential primary on March 24. The next slate of primaries in the party's nominating contest will take place on March 17, when voters in Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio head to the polls.

Yates is not the only former Trump official to back Biden's candidacy. Former FBI Director James Comey tweeted earlier this month that he had voted for the former vice president in the Virginia primary, although Biden's campaign staff quickly rebuked his support.