Attorney General Will Barr has announced that he will leave office before Christmas. His departure was announced by President Trump on Twitter after the Electoral College officially elected Joe Biden as the 46th President.

Although he was an outspoken conservative and often a Trump loyalist, Barr recently contradicted the President by saying that the justice department had found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Despite this conflict, Trump spoke of Barr fondly in his tweet announcing the departure.

“Just had a very nice meeting with Attorney General Bill Barr at the White House. Our relationship has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job! As per letter, Bill will be leaving just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family…”

In the same tweet, Trump announced that, “Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen, an outstanding person, will become Acting Attorney General. Highly respected Richard Donoghue will be taking over the duties of Deputy Attorney General.”

Despite Trump’s civil announcement, he had been considering firing Barr since Sunday, and he ultimately chose to go against the advice from his aides, who tried to discourage him from firing the Attorney General.

Critics of Barr said he used the Department of Justice to advance the White House’s agenda, and in less than two years as Attorney General, he was one of the most divisive person to hold the position. People have also criticized his handling of Robert Mueller’s report on the Russia investigation and his false claims about voting by mail.

As stated by CNN reporters, Barr is “no stranger to controversy.” Earlier in the year, he openly denounced the coronavirus lockdowns, claiming that apart from slavery, they were “the greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history.” In June, Barr ordered authorities to use force to clear a large crowd of peaceful protesters so the President could walk to St. John’s Church for a photo-op.

Hills senior Samantha Baghal does not approve of Trump’s choice to replace Barr, but she is glad to see Barr step down from the position. “His handling of the peaceful protesters after George Floyd’s death is shameful. This decision to use force was extremely inappropriate and reflected the lack of care about the racial injustice that is happening in our country.”