President Donald Trump fired the acting attorney general late Monday night following her public declaration that the department would not legally defend the president's controversial immigration executive order."Ms. Yates is an Obama Administration appointee who is weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration," the White House said in a statement late Monday that said Yates had "betrayed" the Justice Department. "It is time to get serious about protecting our country."Trump's dismissal of the Sally Q. Yates, a career prosecutor and an Obama administration holdover while Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions awaits Senate confirmation, has created a leadership vacuum at the top of the federal government's chief law body.The lack of an attorney general and the firing of the acting one further raises the ante on the Senate's vote on Sessions. The Judiciary Committee was expected to vote on the nomination Tuesday morning but several Republican Senators on the committee criticized Trump's executive order the last several days including Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska.Continue reading on VICE News