Update: Minnesota's U.S. Attorney has resigned, as requested by AG Sessions
Minnesota U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger has announced his resignation, effective immediately.
This comes hours after new Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked the remaining 46 U.S. Attorneys appointed by the Obama administration to step down.
“Serving the people of Minnesota as their United States Attorney has been the most fulfilling and rewarding experience of my professional life," Luger said in a statement. "I am proud of our accomplishments and encourage the work to continue.”
You can read his entire statement on the resignation here.
Here’s the original story from earlier Friday.
Minnesota U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger has been asked to resign from his post by new Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
The Hill reports that AG Sessions has asked on Friday that the remaining 46 of the 93 U.S. Attorneys appointed by the Obama administration step down from their posts.
The rest have already resigned, with the website noting that it's common that U.S. Attorneys are replaced at the beginning of a new administration.
The Star Tribune reports that Luger's office has confirmed he has been asked to resign from the post to which he was appointed in February 2014.
Prior to this, Luger served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in New York and, later, Minnesota, and was a partner of Minneapolis law firm Greene Espel from 1995-2014, according to his website.
Although it's customary, the move has still caught people by surprise being announced late on Friday afternoon.
It comes as backers of Trump call for a "purge" of the remaining vestiges of the Obama administration, with FOX News host Sean Hannity on Thursday night blaming the remnants of the previous regime for the difficult start to Trump's tenure.
In a statement to media, Justice Department Sarah Isgur Flores said: "As was the case in prior transitions, many of the United States attorneys nominated by the previous administration already have left the Department of Justice.
"The Attorney General has now asked the remaining 46 presidentially appointed U.S. Attorneys to tender their resignations in order to ensure a uniform transition."
