*By Kristen Lee*
Attorney General Jeff Sessions abruptly resigned at President Trump's request on Wednesday, ending a tenure marked by a series of public humiliations inflicted by the man who elevated him into the nation's highest law-enforcement position.
After enjoying Sessions' early support on the campaign trail, Trump turned against his AG in March 2017 after he recused himself from a probe into Russia's interference in the 2016 election. Since Sessions stepped aside, Trump has frequently railed against his attorney general in public.
"I don't have an attorney general. It's very sad," Trump said during a scathing interview with Hill.TV in September. The president previously said he would not have named Sessions to head the Justice Department had he known the AG would recuse himself from the Russia probe.
Sessions' job security has long been in question. At a post-election press conference earlier on Wednesday, Trump had declined to answer a question about Sessions' future in his administration.
“I’d rather answer that at a little bit different time," Trump had said.
In a tweet on Wednesday afternoon, Trump said Sessions' chief of staff Matthew Whitaker will step in as acting attorney general.
"We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well! A permanent replacement will be named at a later date," Trump said.
In a formal letter to Trump, Sessions noted that he was submitting his resignation at the president's request. He said he was proud that he and Trump "restored and upheld the rule of law" during his time in office.
The Biden administration on Thursday released a plan for improving the nation's cybersecurity by shifting the burden from individuals, small businesses, and local governments to federal agencies and major tech providers.
COVID-19's origins remain hazy. Three years after the start of the pandemic, it's still unclear whether the coronavirus that causes the disease leaked from a lab or spread to humans from an animal.
Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson will meet in a runoff to be the next mayor of Chicago after voters on Tuesday denied incumbent Lori Lightfoot a second term, issuing a rebuke to a leader who made history as head of the nation’s third-largest city.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has lost her bid for a second term. None of the nine candidates in Tuesday’s election won more than 50% of the vote, so Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson will meet in a runoff to succeed her.
A large cross-section of Americans is at risk of falling below the poverty line as the program that provided more than 32 million people with extra SNAP benefits during the pandemic is set to end. Families received at least $95 extra per month to spend on food.
Conservative justices in the Supreme Court’s majority seem likely to sink President Joe Biden’s plan to wipe away or reduce student loans held by millions of Americans.
Protesters in favor of student loan relief gathered outside the Supreme Court on Tuesday morning, demanding that the top jurists side with President Biden.
