President Donald Trump on Wednesday fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions after a yearlong public campaign that raised questions about whether the president improperly interfered with the Justice Department’s inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
The president had repeatedly criticised his top law enforcement official after he recused himself from the Russia investigation dogging the White House.
In a resignation letter, Mr Sessions - a former Alabama senator who was an early supporter of Mr Trump - made clear the decision to go was not his own.
"Dear Mr President, at your request I am submitting my resignation," he wrote in an undated letter.
According to US media, Trump requested Sessions' resignation, and named Matthew Whitaker to serve as interim attorney general. Whitaker was Sessions' chief of staff and had been considered for a variety of jobs in the Trump administration, including the No. 2 post at Justice or as White House counsel.
In his new role, Whitaker also will oversee special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, prompting fears among Democratic lawmakers that Trump was seeking to derail the inquiry as it nears an end.
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