U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks at the Religious Liberty Summit at the Department of Justice July 30, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

(CBS SF) — Attorney General Jeff Sessions has submitted his resignation in a letter to President Donald Trump Wednesday, a day after the midterm elections.

In his letter, Sessions told Trump he was resigning at the President’s request.

Trump announced via Twitter that Sessions’ Chief of Staff, Matthew Whitaker, would replace Sessions as the head of the Justice Department.

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. He will serve our Country well…. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2018 </s> United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions has resigned from his post.

Sessions’ resignation letter has been delivered to White House chief of staff John Kelly.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is expected to remain in charge of the Russia investigation and special counsel Robert Mueller.

President Trump did not answer a direct question about Sessions during his news conference Wednesday, saying that on the whole he is “extremely” satisfied with his Cabinet.

“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. He will serve our Country well… We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well! A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date,” Trump tweeted. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned Wednesday as the country's chief law enforcement officer after enduring more than a year of blistering and personal attacks over his recusal from the Russia investigation.

Sessions announced his resignation in a letter to President Donald Trump. He said the resignation came at "your request."

Trump announced in a separate tweet that he was naming Sessions' chief of staff Matthew Whitaker, a former United States attorney from Iowa, as acting attorney general.

The resignation was the culmination of a toxic relationship that frayed just weeks into the attorney general's tumultuous tenure, when he stepped aside from the investigation into potential coordination between the president's campaign and Russia.

Trump blamed the decision for opening the door to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller, who took over the Russia investigation and began examining whether Trump’s hectoring of Sessions was part of a broader effort to obstruct justice and stymie the probe. </s> Wednesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions submitted his resignation to President Donald Trump, via a letter hand-delivered to Chief of Staff John Kelly.

“At your request, I am submitting my resignation,” Sessions wrote.

Sessions was the first sitting US senator to endorse Trump during the campaign, but over the past year, he and the President have clashed over his decision to recuse from the US Department of Justice’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Chief of Staff Matthew G. Whitaker has become acting Attorney General, President Trump confirms. </s> Former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has left the Justice Department, a spokesperson confirmed on Monday.

According to Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec, Whitaker's last day was on Saturday. It is not clear what his next career move will be.

Whitaker was previously Jeff Sessions' chief of staff, and was appointed acting Attorney General in November after President Trump ousted Sessions in apparent response to Sessions recusing himself from the Russia investigation. Whitaker was removed from his post on February 14, when William Barr was sworn in as Attorney General .

WHO IS MATTHEW WHITAKER? 3 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL

Following his removal, Whitaker became a counselor with the associate attorney general's office.

Whitaker, a former Iowa state attorney with the Bush administration, reportedly drew President Trump's attention for his criticism of the Mueller investigation while appearing on television and radio as a political commentator.

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Whitaker was criticized by Democrats during his time as acting Attorney General over his testimony to the House Judiciary Committee, who claimed that his responses were intentionally unclear. Whitaker agreed to return to the House Judiciary Committee to further clarify his testimony, which was deemed as "unsatisfactory, incomplete or contradicted" by Charman Jerrold Nadler. </s> WASHINGTON — Former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has left the Justice Department.

Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec says Whitaker's last day was Saturday.

Whitaker was replaced last month when William Barr was confirmed as attorney general. He became a counselor in the associate attorney general's office.

Whitaker, a native Iowan, was elevated to acting attorney general in November after President Donald Trump ousted then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Whitaker was chief of staff to Sessions, who angered the Republican president by recusing himself from the Russia investigation.

Democrats criticized Whitaker for past negative comments about the special counsel's Russia probe.

The House Judiciary Committee's chairman said Whitaker didn't offer clear responses about his communications with the White House when he testified last month. Whitaker agreed to return to clarify his testimony. </s> Former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has left the Justice Department.

Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec says Whitaker's last day was Saturday.

Whitaker was replaced last month when William Barr was confirmed as attorney general. He became a counselor in the associate attorney general's office.

Whitaker was elevated to acting attorney general in November after President Donald Trump ousted then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Whitaker was chief of staff to Sessions, who angered the Republican president by recusing himself from the Russia investigation.

Democrats criticized Whitaker for past negative comments about the special counsel's Russia probe.

The House Judiciary Committee's chairman said Whitaker didn't offer clear responses about his communications with the White House when he testified last month. Whitaker agreed to return to clarify his testimony. </s> People familiar with Trump's deliberations told The Washington Post that Barr is the favorite to take over the job of US Attorney General. Sessions resigned at Trump's request last month, and his Chief of Staff Matthew Whitaker has been the Acting US Attorney General.

Barr, 68, served as US Attorney General in 1991-1993.

On November 7, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned at the request President Donald Trump. The president said in a statement that Whitaker would fill the role of acting US Attorney General until a permanent replacement is found.

Three Democratic Senators have filed a lawsuit to challenge Trump’s appointment of Whitaker alleging that the president violated the Constitution’s appointments clause. Democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns about Whitaker’s impact on the investigation of the Special Counsel, who is probing allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, as well as possible coordination between Moscow and the Trump campaign.

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Sessions has long faced criticism from Trump for recusing himself from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

In 2016, former US Attorney General William Barr supported Donald Trump’s nominee, Jeff Sessions, for the post Barr once held. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) — Former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has left the Justice Department.

Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec says Whitaker's last day was Saturday.

Whitaker was replaced last month when William Barr was confirmed as attorney general. He became a counselor in the associate attorney general's office.

Whitaker was elevated to acting attorney general in November after President Donald Trump ousted then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Whitaker was chief of staff to Sessions, who angered the Republican president by recusing himself from the Russia investigation.

Democrats criticized Whitaker for past negative comments about the special counsel's Russia probe.

The House Judiciary Committee's chairman said Whitaker didn't offer clear responses about his communications with the White House when he testified last month. Whitaker agreed to return to clarify his testimony.
Jeff Sessions asked to resign as United States Attorney General at the request of President Donald Trump. Matthew Whitaker, Sessions' chief of staff, is appointed acting Attorney General.