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 Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned at the request of President Trump on Wednesday, immediately placing oversight of the special counsel’s Russia probe in the hands of an official who has been critical of the inquiry and suggested limiting it. Sessions received the request to resign from Kelly, not the President, on Wednesday morning, an administration official said. "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. A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date," Trump tweeted 
 
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 The move is an abrupt end to what had been a tumultuous tenure for Sessions, originally one of Trump's earliest and most loyal surrogates as an Alabama Republican senator. However, the source said that Sessions himself has been frustrated that Mueller's investigation has not yet concluded, but DOJ officials have "tried to do the right thing every day and not be involved in arguing the case in the media." Both lawmakers won their re-election bids Tuesday. Democrats won back control of the chamber in Tuesday's election and Pelosi would be in line to be elected speaker. "It is a true honor that the President has confidence in my ability to lead the Department of Justice as Acting Attorney General. It is not clear whether Mueller was told ahead of time. He will serve our Country well ...We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well!
– Jeff Sessions is out as attorney general, report CNN and the AP. White House chief of staff John Kelly reportedly asked him to resign Wednesday, and Sessions' resignation letter was subsequently delivered to the White House. The speed of the move, coming so soon after polls closed, "suggested how eager Mr. Trump was for Mr. Sessions to depart," observes the Wall Street Journal. "At your request, I am submitting my resignation," Sessions wrote in a letter addressed to the president, which you can read here. "Since the day I was honored to be sworn in as Attorney General of the United States, I came to work at the Department of Justice every day determined to do my duty and serve my country. I have done so to the best of my ability, working to support the fundamental legal processes that are the foundation of justice." More: