CBS News Staffers on the Verge of Revolt If This Person Is Hired
He Served 27 Years In Prison for a Murder He Didn't Commit. Now...
Washingtonian Food Editor Says Trump Should Stay Out of D.C. Restaurants
PBS Is Preparing for Layoffs While 'Sesame Street' Shows Them How to Survive
Trump Blames Powell for Weak Jobs Report, Demands Fed Rate Cuts
Inside the 'War Room' Hunting America’s Lost Immigrant Children
Newsom Aims to Sidestep Federal Authority, Sets Up 'West Coast Health Alliance'
Blame It on the Kaine
DOD Calls Out 'Highly Provocative' Move by Venezuela
Emmer Slams Walz Over Deadly Minnesota Church Shooting, Calls for Repeal of Trans...
12 Charged in Illegal Alien Smuggling Ring
Court Reveals Which Items Were Seized During FBI Raid of Bolton’s Home
Polls Show Strong Approval for President Trump As Second Term Gains Momentum
Trump Reverses Biden-Harris H-2A Visa Rules to Ease Farmer Burdens, Boost Rural Economy
Feds Seize Record-Breaking Chemical Haul Meant for Cartel
Tipsheet

Dems Slam Firing of Yates as Nixon-style 'Massacre'

Democrats didn’t waste any time slamming President Trump’s decision to fire acting Attorney General Sally Yates Monday night for not carrying out his executive order on refugees and immigration. Some even compared Trump’s letting go of an Obama appointee to Richard Nixon’s “Saturday Night Massacre,” when, under investigation for his role in Watergate, he ordered the firing of the special prosecutor in charge of the case. In protest, however, Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus resigned rather than carrying out the order.

Advertisement

“President Trump has commenced a course of conduct that is Nixonian in its design and execution and threatens the long-vaunted independence of the Justice Department," said Rep. John Conyers (Mich.), senior Democratic on the House Judiciary Committee. "If dedicated government officials deem his directives to be unlawful and unconstitutional, he will simply fire them as if government is a reality show."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also called the firing a “massacre.”

“We've had a number, a large number of eloquent speeches about the president's executive order. And while they were going on, of course, we had a 'Monday Night Massacre,' he said on the Senate floor Monday night. “Sally Yates, a person of great integrity, who follows the law, was fired by the president. She was fired because she would not enact, pursue the executive order on the belief that it was illegal, perhaps unconstitutional. It was a profile in courage. It was a brave act. And a right act. And I hope the president and his people who are in the White House learn something from this.”

Sen. Patrick Leahy, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, said the president’s move sets a “dangerous” precedent.

“President Trump has now put his Cabinet on notice: if you adhere to your oath of office to defend the Constitution, you risk your job," he said.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi also slammed Trump for acting recklessly “to get the answer he wants.” While Rep. Steny Hoyer said the president’s firing of Yates is “an alarming step for an administration already raising serious questions about its competence to govern.”

Advertisement

Monday night, Schumer and Pelosi led a protest against President Trump, who took to Twitter Tuesday morning to note that their microphone didn’t work, “just like the Dem party!” 

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Recommended

Trending on Townhall Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement