This is how Sally Yates learned she was fired

Sally Yates.
(Image credit: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates became an unexpected hero of "the resistance" when she refused to defend President Trump's executive order banning travelers from majority Muslim countries in January. Her decision promptly got her fired: Yates "betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order," Trump wrote in his announcement.

For Yates, the decision was not an easy one, especially as a 27-year veteran of the Justice Department, The New Yorker writes. "I didn't want to end my service with the Department of Justice by being fired," she explained. "Of course, I was temporary — I understand that. But, after 27 years, that's not how I expected it to end."

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.