Former acting attorney general Sally Yates had no time for condescending nonsense during her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday.
Fired in late January by President Trump because she refused to defend his travel and immigration ban, she testified about her concerns surrounding former national security adviser Michael Flynn. She told the Senate subcommittee that she warned the White House in late January about Flynn, who eventually resigned because he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his Russian contacts. She also said that the Trump administration was aware of her concern that Flynn was vulnerable to blackmail by Russia.
"We wanted to tell the White House as quickly as possible," she said in her testimony. "To state the obvious: You don’t want your national security adviser compromised with the Russians."
Back in January, Yates made her explicit warning to White House counsel Donald McGahn.
"The vice president was unknowingly making false statements to the public and ... we believed that General Flynn was compromised with respect to the Russians," she said Monday during her testimony. "We felt like the vice president and others were entitled to know that the information that they were conveying to the American people wasn't true."
Still, it took 18 days for the former national security adviser to be ousted. (The move was triggered by a The Washington Post story about Flynn, detailing many of the events confirmed by Yates yesterday.)
Her testimony and unflinching behaviour in front of a barrage of questioning by hostile Republican senators got her a lot of praise on social media.
Wonder Woman is in theaters June 2nd. But if you want a sneak preview, watch Sally Yates' performance in front of the Senate.
— Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) May 8, 2017
Turns out, the Q. stands for Queen. #SallyYates pic.twitter.com/fiFLOedMDB
— Full Frontal (@FullFrontalSamB) May 8, 2017
@VennMultiverse Sally Yates epitomizes the word HERO in every way.
— Robert Joseph (@RobJosMPAW) May 8, 2017
Be right back, I'm going to my local tattoo artist to get a Sally Yates tramp stamp because she's my fucking queen
— Xeni Jardin (@xeni) May 8, 2017
One of the main reasons Yates was so celebrated was how she handled the way some male senators approached her. She was poised but firm when answering their questions and explaining her decisions.
Sally Yates handles condescending men so well you'd almost think she'd been doing it her whole life.
— Liana Maeby (@lianamaeby) May 8, 2017
#SallyYates has the face of a woman who has had to patiently explain things to men way too many times. pic.twitter.com/ZlXzwz2eGx
— Navah Wolfe (@navahw) May 8, 2017
But the best part was when she clapped back hard at not one, but two different senators who questioned her integrity and diluted the reasoning behind her decision to not defend President Trump's travel ban.
First Cornyn, then Cruz. It's like it was "reduce a Texas senator to ashes, get another one free" day. #SallyYates pic.twitter.com/4wpUV1AqN7
— shauna (@goldengateblond) May 8, 2017
Sally Yates just shut down Ted Cruz on Constitutional Law. pic.twitter.com/ONlwEYm64D
— jordan 🌹 (@JordanUhl) May 8, 2017
In my darkest hours I will think of Sally Yates destroying Ted Cruz on national television, and it will sustain me.
— Molly Knight (@molly_knight) May 8, 2017
That burn Ted Cruz got from Sally Yates will forever be a pre-existing condition.
— shauna (@goldengateblond) May 8, 2017
In the end, the congressional hearing was a master class on how much condescension and mansplaining women have to deal with every single day.
Mansplaining in one gif pic.twitter.com/lwFV7wiPni
— Colin Jones (@colinjones) May 8, 2017
What do you call mansplaining in question form? Asking for #SallyYates.
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) May 8, 2017
Every time Sally Yates punks out a mansplaining Republican senator, an angel gets its wings. https://t.co/9ceEC0PXuC
— Brian Pelts ✊ (@Brian_Pelts) May 9, 2017
@thehill #SallyYates, the Clap-back Queen who schooled a group of mansplainers on the Constitution and moral fortitude.
— Stephanie Swann (@SwannDives) May 9, 2017
Predictably, Yates got a shoutout from President Trump, who seemed to dismiss her testimony, even though it opened the way for a lot of new questions the White House needs to answer.
Sally Yates made the fake media extremely unhappy today --- she said nothing but old news!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2017
Whatever happens next, Yates will remain a hero in the minds of many. She is the woman who declined to defend an executive order she thought to be unconstitutional, who warned the White House about Michael Flynn, and who schooled Sen. Ted Cruz and other mansplainers without batting an eye. We all have to admit she's an incredible woman, right?
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