AFT President Randi Weingarten on the Ousting of Attorney General Jeff Sessions

WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement:

“Just one day after the voters sent a Democratic majority to the House of Representatives to put a check on President Trump, he forced out Attorney General Jeff Sessions, naming a replacement, Matthew Whitaker, who is on the record criticizing the Mueller investigation.

“We are entering a dangerous moment, where the president is putting his thumb on the scale, evidently to thwart the independent investigation into his own behavior.

“No one should be above the law in America; this is a democracy, not an autocracy or a dictatorship. When elected officials govern based on personal vendettas, they pose a direct threat to the balance of justice in our country.

 “Congress warned the president against this, and he has continued to act with the most reckless impunity we have ever seen from a person holding this office. 

“How do we teach our students to obey rules when President Trump is showing them that they don’t have to? How can we, in good conscience, preach about democracy when the leader of our country shows contempt for the very foundation of our democratic values?

“We, the people, will be the ones who try to hold the president accountable, while at the same time asking both what remains of the current Congress, as well as the newly elected Congress, to do the same. AFT members and leaders will take to the streets and join actions happening all around the country tomorrow at 5 p.m. EST, to make clear that Matthew Whitaker is not an appropriate person to oversee the Russia investigation.”