Politico | US Attorney General William Barr to step down
- Decision follows months of complaints from President Donald Trump about the administration’s top lawyer
- Barr’s last day will be December 23, ‘just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family’, the president says
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney on politico.com on December 14, 2020.
US Attorney General William Barr is leaving his position, a decision that follows months of complaints from President Donald Trump about the administration’s top lawyer.
Trump and Barr made a show of cordiality with the announcement, with Trump tweeting: “Our relationship has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job!”
The attorney general’s last day will be December 23.
Trump had been frustrated with Barr’s handling of the Justice Department investigation into Hunter Biden’s finances, along with his lack of engagement in the president’s effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Barr’s departure upends the leadership of the Justice Department at a sensitive moment in the transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden’s administration, a further indication of Trump’s attempt to erode its independence in the waning weeks of his term.
