--- title: Donald Trump to Democrats: 'Give Us Our Attorney General' description: President Trump lashed out Tuesday at Democrats in Congress for delaying the confirmation of Attorney General nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions canonical: https://time.com/4654824/donald-trump-attorney-general-sessions/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-31T12:56:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T03:02:40.227Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump to Democrats: 'Give Us Our Attorney General' og:description: Trump criticizes Democratic lawmakers amid turmoil in the Justice Department og:url: https://time.com/4654824/donald-trump-attorney-general-sessions/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9029b5e821b44377/6988b7fe428a9e4b62cd5b05/donald-trump-sessions-democrats.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4408 og:image:height: 2480 og:image:alt: US-BRITAIN-DIPLOMACY-TRUMP-MAY og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump to Democrats: 'Give Us Our Attorney General' twitter:description: Trump criticizes Democratic lawmakers amid turmoil in the Justice Department twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9029b5e821b44377/6988b7fe428a9e4b62cd5b05/donald-trump-sessions-democrats.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump to Democrats: 'Give Us Our Attorney General' > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jan 31, 2017 12:56 PM UTC  President Donald Trump speaks during a joint press conference with Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May in the East Room of the White House on Jan. 27, 2017 in Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump speaks during a joint press conference with Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May in the East Room of the White House on Jan. 27, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jan 31, 2017 12:56 PM UTC [President Donald Trump ](http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2016-donald-trump/)lashed out Tuesday at Democrats in Congress for delaying the confirmation of Attorney General nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions — criticism that followed a late-night leadership change at the Justice Department related to Trump’s [controversial immigration order](http://time.com/4654787/trump-immigration-discrimination-lawsuits/). “Nancy Pelosi and Fake Tears Chuck Schumer held a rally at the steps of The Supreme Court and mic did not work (a mess)-just like Dem party!” Trump tweeted Tuesday morning. Democratic lawmakers [rallied outside the Supreme Court](http://time.com/4654574/donald-trump-congress-democrats-reaction/) on Monday night, [following the lead of protesters](http://time.com/4652877/donald-trump-immigration-ban-muslim/) and advocacy groups who [demonstrated at airports](http://time.com/4652654/jfk-detain-trump-immigration-order/) across the country throughout the weekend. “When will the Democrats give us our Attorney General and rest of Cabinet! They should be ashamed of themselves! No wonder D.C. doesn’t work!” Trump [tweeted](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/826391334248407040). Senate Democrats had [asked to push back the Sessions vote](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/jeff-sessions-senate-vote-delayed-234106) earlier this month so they could have more time to vet him and review his paperwork. Trump’s comments come amid turmoil in the Justice Department. On Monday night, [Trump fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates](http://time.com/4654665/president-trump-sally-yates-immigration-order/) — who was appointed deputy attorney general by former President Barack Obama — after she [refused to defend](http://time.com/4654533/acting-attorney-general-sally-yates-immigration-ban-donald-trump/) the executive order halting the country’s refugee program and temporarily banning immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. In her place, Trump appointed Dana Boente, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to be acting attorney general until Sessions is confirmed. 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