ON POLITICS

James Comey is one of several officials President Trump fired

Jessica Estepa
USA TODAY

James Comey, the now former FBI director, became on Tuesday the latest to join the growing list of officials President Trump has fired in the early days of his presidency.

Here's a reminder of who else is in the club, in order of their dismissals:

Sally Yates

Trump's former acting attorney general was a holdover from the Obama administration. Just days into Trump's presidency, Yates was dismissed on January 30 after she refused to defend the first iteration of his travel ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries.

"Ms. Yates is an Obama administration appointee who is weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration," a statement from the White House said.

Mike Flynn

The former national security adviser was mired in controversy in February after news reports surfaced that he had misled officials, including then-Vice President-elect Pence, about his communications with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Flynn resigned on February 13, less than a week later.

"Unfortunately, because of the fast pace of events, I inadvertently briefed the vice-president elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian Ambassador," Flynn wrote in a public statement. "I have sincerely apologized to the President and the Vice President, and they have accepted my apology."

Preet Bharara

The former U.S. attorney was another holdover from the Obama administration. In March, Attorney General Jeff Sessions had asked for the resignations of 46 federal prosecutors. Bharara refused, asserting that he had met privately with Trump after the 2016 election and the incoming president had asked him to stay. He then announced he was fired by Trump on March 11.

On Twitter, Bharara said: "I did not resign. Moments ago I was fired. Being the US Attorney in SDNY (Southern District of New York) will forever be the greatest honor of my professional life."

Angella Reid

The former chief usher at the White House was unceremoniously fired last week. Reid joined the White House in 2011 under then-President Obama. While Trump officials said it isn't uncommon for staffs to transition between administrations, it is unusual for a chief usher to be dismissed. They typical hold their positions for several years and over a number of administrations. It remains unclear why Reid was let go on May 5.

James Comey

For months, the FBI director has been in the headlines for his handling of the investigation of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server during her days as secretary of State and, later, for his agency's probe into possible connections between the Trump administration and Russia. His firing was announced on Tuesday, within hours of the FBI sending a letter to Congress that stated Comey had given inaccurate testimony about a Clinton aide forwarding "hundreds and thousands of emails."

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