As it happened: Donald Trump's firing of US Attorney General Jeff Sessions

Summary

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has announced he is resigning from his role as the top law official
It follows months of criticism from President Trump over the Department of Justice's handling of the Russia inquiry
The announcement came a day after mid-term elections, in which Democrats took control of the House of Representatives
But Republicans have retained control of the Senate, with key victories in Indiana, Texas and North Dakota
Trump announced that Matthew Whitaker, chief of staff at the Department of Justice, will be the new acting attorney general

Live Reporting

Ritu Prasad and Max Matza

'I could fire everybody right now'published at 17:41 Greenwich Mean Time 7 November 2018
Trump says about the Mueller investigation: "I could fire everybody right now".
"I let it go on. They're wasting a lot of money but I let it go on."
"I could end it right now," he says, calling it "a disgrace and an embarrassment to the people of our country".
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Trump says healthcare will cover people who need itpublished at 17:40 Greenwich Mean Time 7 November 2018
"We are getting rid of the individual mandate because it was very unfair to a lot of people but at the same time we're covering the people that need it."
"People that couldn't necessarily afford it were having to pay for the privilege of not having to pay for healthcare and it was bad healthcare for that.
"We're creating tremendous competition," he added.
"People very much appreciate it."
Read our explainer on how Obamacare has really fared under Trump here.
US journalists react to news conferencepublished at 17:38 Greenwich Mean Time 7 November 2018
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Trump: Elections will have positive impactpublished at 17:37 Greenwich Mean Time 7 November 2018
"We won a lot of elections last night, we did very well last night, and I think it's going to have a positive impact," Mr Trump said when questioned about the divisiveness present in the US.
He also said Republicans who lost should have backed him.
Media caption,
Donald Trump mocks losers who rejected his help
'Sit down please, I didn't call you'published at 17:34 Greenwich Mean Time 7 November 2018
Image source, Getty Images
Trump is arguing with journalists in the audience.
"Excuse me, I'm not responding to you. Would you please sit down," Trump says to a reporter in the crowd.
"It's such a hostile media. It's so sad."
"You rudely interrupted him," Trump says gesturing to another reporter.
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Mueller investigation 'bad for our country'published at 17:33 Greenwich Mean Time 7 November 2018
"It should end because it's very bad for our country," Mr Trump said of the Robert Mueller investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign.
He repeated that there was "no collusion" from his side.
"They should look at the other side also. They're not looking at all of the things that came up during this investigation."
"They should also get people who could be fair. Not 13 or 14 - I call them the angry Democrats. They are angry people and it's a very unfair thing for this country," he added - not just unfair to himself.
Trump to reporter: 'You are a terrible person'published at 17:31 Greenwich Mean Time 7 November 2018
"I think you should let me run the country," he told CNN reporter Jim Acosta when pressed further about his immigration claims.
"That's enough. Put down the mic."
"You are a rude terrible person," he added. "The way you treat Sarah Huckabee is horrible. You shouldn't treat people that way."
"When you report fake news...you are an enemy of the people," he said.
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Tensions over migrant caravanpublished at 17:30 Greenwich Mean Time 7 November 2018
Image source, Getty Images
A reporter suggests to Trump that the migrant caravan is not "an invasion" but rather migrants slowly moving through Mexico towards the US border.
"Thank you for telling me that I appreciate it," Mr Trump says.
"They weren't' actors. You think they were actors? They didn't come from Hollywood," Mr Trump says about one of his campaign ads.
The journalist refuses to hand over the microphone, leading to Trump to admonish him.
"You shouldn't treat people that way," Trump says.
When another journalist rushes to his defence, Trump responds, "well I'm not a big fan of yours either".
Trump casts doubts on interior secretarypublished at 17:27 Greenwich Mean Time 7 November 2018
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
A Halloween themed anti-Zinke poster outside the US Department of the Interior
Asked if he's keep his Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who has been embroiled in a spending scandal, Trump says he'll "be looking at that" and will have more to say "in about a week".
Trump will negotiate with Dems 'under new concept'published at 17:27 Greenwich Mean Time 7 November 2018
Media caption,
Donald Trump hopes for 'beautiful bi-partisan situation'
"Now we have a much easier path because the Democrats will come to us with a plan for infrastructure, a plan for healthcare, a plan for whatever they are looking at and we'll negotiate," Mr Trump said, speaking to the new situation on Capitol Hill, with Democrats holding the House and Republicans the Senate.
"And as you know it's been very hard in the Senate because we need essentially 10 votes from Democrats and we don't get those votes. The Democrats do really stick together well. I don't agree with them on policy but they do stick together."
"Under the new concept of what we're doing I say, come on, let me see what you have. They want to do things. I keep hearing about investigations.... like almost from the time I announced I was going to run. They've been giving us this investigation fatigue."
"They can play that game but we can play it better. Because we have a thing called the US Senate."
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'We need the wall'published at 17:20 Greenwich Mean Time 7 November 2018
"I speak to Democrats all the time and they agree that the wall is necessary," says Trump.
"I mean they sound like me," he claims.
"We need money to build the whole wall, not pieces of a wall," he insists.
Is Trump looking tired?published at 17:19 Greenwich Mean Time 7 November 2018
A few of our journalists are suggesting he might be...
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Trump: 'There is a lot to talk about'published at 17:18 Greenwich Mean Time 7 November 2018
Trump has begun to take questions from journalists.
As hands shot up, Trump jumped back and said "whoa, I didn't even know what happened".
Trump says environment is 'really important'published at 17:17 Greenwich Mean Time 7 November 2018
"We want crystal clean water. We want beautiful perfect air. Air and water has to be perfect," he said.
"At the same time we don't want to put ourselves at a disadvantage to other coutnries who don't abide by the rules at all. We don't want to hurt our jobs, we don't want to hurt our factories. We want to be totally competitive.
"We have just about the cleanest air, cleanest water... So environmental is really important to me."
Trump 'threatening' Democratic investigatorspublished at 17:17 Greenwich Mean Time 7 November 2018
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Have you seen our journalists tweeting from the White House?published at 17:16 Greenwich Mean Time 7 November 2018
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Trump takes credit for election resultspublished at 17:15 Greenwich Mean Time 7 November 2018
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Trump: 'Too bad'published at 17:11 Greenwich Mean Time 7 November 2018
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Watch: Trump says his party 'defied history'published at 17:09 Greenwich Mean Time 7 November 2018
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'She gave me no love - and she lost'published at 17:09 Greenwich Mean Time 7 November 2018
While discussing candidates who he did and did not manage to get out and campaign for, the president said some had decided to keep their distance from him.
"I'm not sure that I should be happy or sad but I feel just fine about it," Mr Trump said.
He also added a note about Utah Republican Mia Love, who lost her close race: "Mia Love gave me no love. And she lost."
"Too bad," he added.