Jeff Sessions

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has resigned, ending a soured tenure with President Donald Trump who have severally pushed for Sessions’ resignation over Russian probe.

Sessions resigned at the request of the president.

“At your request, I am submitting my resignation,” Sessions wrote in the opening of his resignation letter to Trump.

“In my time as attorney general, we have restored and upheld the rule of law – a glorious tradition that each of us has a responsibility to safeguard,” Sessions added in his resignation letter.

Trump tweeted shortly after the resignation was announced, naming a temporary replacement of Sessions.

“We are pleased to announce that Matthew G. Whitaker, Chief of Staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the Department of Justice, will become our new Acting Attorney General of the United States. He will serve our Country well….

“….We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well! A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date,” Trump tweeted.

Sessions, a former senator representing Alabama, was among the early loyalists of Trump before the relationship was soured shortly after he took office as Attorney General in 2017.

Sessions trouble with Trump started after he had recused himself from oversight of the investigation of alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump also tweeted an attack on the Robert Mueller’s probe into the Russian collusion, quoting an NBC News survey on publication perception of the probe.

Trump said: “According to NBC News, Voters Nationwide Disapprove of the so-called Mueller Investigation (46%) more than they Approve (41%).

“You mean they are finally beginning to understand what a disgusting Witch Hunt, led by 17 Angry Democrats, is all about!”

The president also warned the Democrats against investigating him, after taking over the House in the midterm elections.

“If the Democrats think they are going to waste Taxpayer Money investigating us at the House level, then we will likewise be forced to consider investigating them for all of the leaks of Classified Information, and much else, at the Senate level.

“Two can play that game!”

Trump also mocked the House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi, who is favoured to be the next Speaker from January 2019.

Trump tweeted: “In all fairness, Nancy Pelosi deserves to be chosen Speaker of the House by the Democrats.

“If they give her a hard time, perhaps we will add some Republican votes. She has earned this great honor!”