WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General William Barr, one of President Donald Trump's staunchest allies, is resigning amid lingering tension with the president over the president's baseless claims of election fraud and the investigation into President-elect Joe Biden's son.
Barr went to the White House on Monday, where Trump said he submitted his letter of resignation.
"Just had a very nice meeting with Attorney General Bill Barr at the White House," President Trump tweeted on Monday. "Our relationship has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job! As per the letter, Bill will be leaving just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family."
Just had a very nice meeting with Attorney General Bill Barr at the White House. Our relationship has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job! As per letter, Bill will be leaving just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2020
Trump has publicly expressed his anger about Barr's statement to The Associated Press earlier this month that the Justice Department had found no widespread election fraud that would change the outcome of the election.
According to the Associated Press, Trump was also angry the Justice Department did not publicly announce it was investigating President-elect Joe Biden's son Hunter, despite it being a policy within the department to do such a thing.
Trump says Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen, who Trump called "an outstanding person," will become Acting Attorney General.
Following the news of Barr's resignation, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler issued a statement saying Barr did the bidding of President Trump except for when it came to the election.
“From misleading the American public about the Mueller report to his dangerous efforts to overturn COVID safety measures, from his callous disregard for civil rights to his rampant politicization of the Justice Department, William Barr was willing to do the President’s bidding on every front but one," Nadler said in the statement. "Barr refused to play along with President Trump’s nonsensical claims to have won the election. He is now out as Attorney General one month early."
Nadler added that President-elect Joe Biden has "a tremendous amount of work to do to repair the integrity of the Department of Justice."
“In 37 days, President-Elect Biden will be sworn into office. Whomever Joe Biden chooses as the new Attorney General will have a tremendous amount of work to do to repair the integrity of the Department of Justice—and I, for one, look forward to being a partner in that project. The work must begin without delay.”