Barack Obama: “I'm confident that Elisse's years of experience will serve her well in her new position, and I'm grateful she has agreed…”

I’m going to insist that we can do better than we’re doing right now.

And I will fight for that, even if I don’t always think it’s going to win.

The full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president.

Because if this becomes the new normal, there’s no reason to believe it will stop with her — or that future presidents, in either party, won’t do the same.