Donald Trump replaced Bill Barr with Jeffrey Rosen as Attorney General.
Posted by The Briefing with Jen Psaki, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 90%
The Briefing with Jen PsakiOct 23, 2026
Multiple tier1 sources (AP, Reuters, PolitiFact) and tier2 sources (NPR, PBS) confirm that after Attorney General William Barr publicly stated there was no evidence of election fraud, Trump's Attorney General position passed to Jeffrey Rosen, who was Barr's deputy and was named by Trump as Barr's replacement in December 2020.
What was said
… One of the people he tried to pressure into helping push that big lie was, of course, his Attorney General at the time, Bill Barr. He wanted Barr to put the full weight of the Justice Department behind the big lie, but Barr wouldn't do it. In fact, Barr publicly refuted Trump's claims of election fraud, so Trump replaced him. He replaced him with a guy named Jeffrey Rosen, and then Trump reportedly called Rosen almost every day, pressuring him to use the Justice Department to push the big lie, but Rosen refused. …
The Briefing with Jen Psaki · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. NPR reports in December 2020 that Trump announced via Twitter that Barr would be replaced on an acting basis by Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen.[4]
Supports. AP and PBS state that Barr's December 2020 departure was followed by Rosen replacing him, and that Barr drew Trump's ire by publicly saying there was no evidence of fraud that could have changed the results.[1][5]
Supports. Reuters and PolitiFact describe Rosen as the acting attorney general who succeeded Barr, and PolitiFact notes Trump then tried to replace him with someone more compliant.[2][3]
Context. Rosen held the role in an acting capacity; the sources describe him as acting attorney general rather than a confirmed officeholder, and Trump's later attempts to fire him did not succeed.[1][6][7]
Sources
7 sources: 3 fact-checkers, 3 tier 2, 1 not rated
- 1Hearing: Trump told Justice Dept. to call election ‘corrupt’apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
- 23 takeaways from fifth day of Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot hearingsreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3Timeline: Donald Trump pressures Justice Department on ...politifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 4Barr To Leave DOJ Before Christmasnpr.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 5Who is Jeffrey Rosen and why is he testifying in the Jan. 6 hearings?pbs.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 6Trump Impeachment Evidence Piles Up Before Trialbloomberg.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
- 7Trump contemplated firing acting attorney general over ...wsbradio.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- Top leaders at the Justice Department threatened to resign if Donald Trump replaced Jeffrey Rosen.True
- Donald Trump pressured Bill Barr to use the Justice Department to support claims of election fraud in 2020.True
- The Trump administration has fired hundreds of lawyers who worked on the January 6th investigation and prosecution.Mixed
- Donald Trump was president of the United States on January 20, 2021.True
- After the 2020 election, Attorney General William Barr stated that the Justice Department found no evidence of voter fraud that would affect the election outcome.True