President Donald Trump announced Monday evening that Attorney General Bill Barr will step down from his position atop the Justice Department “just before Christmas.”
![WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 23: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as U.S. Attorney General William Barr listens during a discussion with State Attorneys General on Protecting Consumers from Social Media Abuses in the Cabinet Room of the White House on September 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Oliver Contreras-Pool/Getty Images)](https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228674661-1-scaled.jpg)
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 23: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as U.S. Attorney General William Barr listens during a discussion with State Attorneys General on Protecting Consumers from Social Media Abuses in the Cabinet Room of the White House on September 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Oliver Contreras-Pool/Getty Images)
“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,” Trump tweeted. “As per letter, Bill will be leaving just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family.”
Trump added that Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen, who he called “an outstanding person,” will serve as Acting Attorney General and Richard Donoghue will now perform the duties of the Deputy Attorney General. (RELATED: Attorney General Bill Barr Considering An Early Departure From The Trump Administration, Report Says)
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
…Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen, an outstanding person, will become Acting Attorney General. Highly respected Richard Donoghue will be taking over the duties of Deputy Attorney General. Thank you to all! pic.twitter.com/V5sqOJT9PM
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2020
Trump has recently expressed major concerns with Barr’s performance, specifically his announcement that DOJ had not found any evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election and his decision not to “set the record straight” on Hunter Biden in the weeks leading up to the election.
“Joe Biden lied on the debate stage,” Trump said during an interview with Fox News that aired Sunday. “He said ‘there’s nothing happening, nothing happening,’ and Bill Barr should have stepped up.”
“Say what you want about Robert Mueller, when BuzzFeed put out a phony article,” the president continued, “Bob Mueller stepped out and he said that article was a phony and then there was ultimately proven there was no collusion.”
WATCH:
Barr came out of retirement to serve as Trump’s second AG, and rumors of an anticipated early departure from DOJ circulated in recent days.