Biden sacks Trump-appointed lawyer who refused to resign

President BidenJoe Biden Senate holds longest vote in history as Democrats scramble to save rescue bill Trump’s ex-elect arrested in Capitol riot complains he can’t sleep in jail Biden helps to negotiate an agreement with the Senate on unemployment benefits PLUS Friday sacked Sharon Gustafson, who was appointed by the former President TrumpDonald Trump Trump announces new tranche of DeSantis approvals, Pence tied in 2024 Republican poll Lawmakers demand changes after National Guard troops on Capitol Hill became ill from contaminated food MORE as General Legal Adviser of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC).

The White House told Gustafson it was fired as of 5 p.m. Friday after refusing to step down of its own accord.

In a letter to the White House released by the Ethics & Public Policy Center, a conservative think tank, Gustafson said she had “respectfully” denied the White House’s request to resign and wanted to serve the remainder of his four-year term, which was due to expire in 2023.

Gautam Raghavan, the deputy director of the Office of Presidential Personnel at the White House, responded in an email that she was fired on Friday evening.

Neither the White House nor the EEOC immediately responded to The Hill’s requests for comment.

Republicans quickly came out swinging against the gunfire. Andrea Lucas, a Republican-appointed commissioner to the EEOC, described the dismissal as a violation of Biden’s calls for unity.

“I find the measures taken today by the White House against our independent agency to be deeply disturbing, a departure from long established norms and respected by the presidents of both parties, an injection of partisanship where it had been absent. , and… revealing evidence of what ‘unity’ actually means to this president and his administration, ”she tweeted.

… revealing proof of what “unity” really means to this president and his administration. In his inaugural address, the President said: “The right to peaceful dissent, within the guardrails of our Republic, is perhaps our nation’s greatest strength.”

– Andrea R. Lucas (@andrealucasEEOC) March 5, 2021

“It’s a model. President Biden is calling for an end to ‘partisan warfare’, but only to turn around and demand that Senate-confirmed officials resign so he can make room for his left-wing friends, ”the President said. representative. Virginie foxxVirginia Ann Foxx Chamber of Commerce calls Biden removal of NLRB attorney general GOP scrutiny “ extreme ” intensifies over firing of NLRB lead lawyer Biden, fires NLRB attorney from l Trump era MORE (RN.C.), the top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee.

“President Biden should take note of Advocate General Gustafson, who has kept his pledge and refused to bow to partisan pressure. This unprecedented dismissal of an honorable official that took place just hours after he was asked to resign is unwarranted and should be rescinded immediately. ”Foxx said.

Gustafson was first appointed to her post in 2018. She came under scrutiny at the time for her remarks on protections for LGBT workers.

Gustafson wrote in her letter to the White House that she was unaware of the former EEOC attorneys general who were sacked at the start of a new administration, although Biden worked quickly to install his own people appointed across the federal government.