Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler (N.Y.) said Monday there was nothing unusual about President Trump asking the remaining U.S. attorneys appointed by the previous administration to resign.
Nadler, a critic of President Trump, and CNN host Chris Cuomo both said it is common for presidents to remove attorneys put in place by their predecessors despite widespread criticism among Democrats for Trump's actions.
They were discussing the Justice Department's order on Friday for the remaining 46 chief federal prosecutors appointed by former President Obama to resign.
Cuomo asked Nadler about the firings and whether Democrats have been expressing "false outrage" about the changes. He noted that former Presidents Obama, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan all removed U.S. attorneys during their tenures from the previous administration.
"There's nothing unusual about removing the former president's U.S. attorneys," Nadler said before discussing his problems with the move.
One U.S. attorney refused to resign after Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued the order, however. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara refused to give his resignation when it was requested by the Trump administration. He was subsequently fired on Saturday.
Bharara, the Manhattan U.S. attorney, wrote on Twitter that he did not resign but was forced out.