Trump Fires Rebellious AG Fill-in over Immigration Fallout

President Donald Trump has told the acting attorney general, "You're fired!"

Sally Yates refused to defend his temporary immigration ban in court, instructing Justice Department attorneys not to fight for President Trump's executive order.

Some leading Republicans say Mr. Trump did the right thing in replacing Yates, an Obama appointee.

The ban applies to seven countries – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somolia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen – that have been identified as having ties to terrorism.

Despite protests against the move, Trump supporters point out that other presidents have done the same thing. His White House team says the controversy has been overdone.

"I think this has been blown way out of proportion and exaggerated," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.

Meanwhile, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed suit over the immigration order.

"At the end of the day you are either abiding by the Constitution or you are not and in our view, the president is not adhering to the Constitution when it comes to his executive action," Ferguson said in a statement.

Former President Barack Obama broke with past presidents' custom not to criticize the chief executive.

"The president fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating with individuals because of their faith or religion," Obama's statement read, without noting the ban involves countries, not individuals.

A Rasmussen Reports poll released Monday showed a majority of Americans support placing a 120-day hold on asylum for refugees coming from countries with histories of terrorism.

According to the poll, 57 percent of likely U.S. voters favor a temporary ban; 33 percent opposed the ban and 10 percent are undecided.

This evening, President Trump is set to make another big announcement, naming his first Supreme Court nominee to fill the vacancy left by the late Antonin Scalia.

Three federal court appeals judges are seen as the leading candidates.

Neil Gorsuch serves on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver; Thomas Hardiman works in Pittsburgh as a judge on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; and William Pryor sits as a judge on the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Democrats, still unhappy that the Senate wouldn't give Obama's nominee for the court a vote last year, are already threatening to filibuster Trump's choice.

In the past, leading Democrats, including present Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have said Republican nominees should be blocked.

Meanwhile, President Trump continues to focus on the economy, signing an executive order to severely cut the cost of federal regulations, an action supporters say will help businesses. The move will require agencies to cut two current rules for every new one.

"This will be the biggest such act our country has ever seen," the president said. "There will be regulation, there will be control, but it will be a normalized control. You can open your business, you can expand your business very easily and that's what our country has been all about."