Why Is Trump Unhappy With Jeff Sessions? President Blames Attorney General For Blocked Travel Ban

President Donald Trump has reportedly become increasingly dissatisfied with Attorney General Jeff Sessions over the past few months, blaming him for the White House's blocked travel ban against people from predominantly Muslim countries.

The president's growing discontent with the Department of Justice was evident in a series of Monday morning tweets where he blamed the department for producing a “watered down, politically correct version” of the ban, which was blocked by the courts.

Read: Will Attorney General Jeff Sessions Be Impeached If Found Guilty Of Perjury?

From his Twitter posts, Trump clearly indicated he preferred the original travel ban executive order he signed in January, which barred visitors from selected Muslim-majority nations and refugees worldwide from entering the U.S.

He revised that order and announced a second version of the travel ban order in March in hopes of passing the legal challenges that thwarted the first order after multiple federal courts struck down Trump's first travel ban, the New York Times reported.

The second version was also blocked by federal courts and last week, the Justice Department, headed by Sessions appealed to the Supreme Court.

In a press briefing by White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders on Monday, when she was asked about Trump's tweets on the travel ban, she said: "He (Donald Trump) cares that we call it national security and that we take steps to protect the people of this country. It's real simple.

"Everybody wants to get into the labels and the semantics of it, but the bottom line is he’s trying to protect the citizens of this country. The danger is extremely clear. The law is very clear. And the need for this executive order is very clear. And the President’s priority in protecting the people is very clear."

Trump's unhappiness with Sessions has been building for months when the attorney general decided to recuse himself from the investigation into Russian interference in last year's presidential election, the Times reported citing anonymous people close to Trump. Trump reportedly thinks Sessions' recusal eventually led to the appointment of a special counsel who took over the investigation.

Trump's critics said the president was using the ban for religious discrimination. Sen. Ben Cardin said Trump's latest words attacking his own Justice Department revealed his true desire to use the ban to discriminate on religious grounds.

"It clearly shows his intent," the Maryland Democrat told CNN: "His lawyers try to justify it by saying it wasn't a travel ban, but it was extreme vetting. The President made that clear. It is a travel ban."

Meanwhile, Sebastian Gorka, a White House national security aide, told CNN Monday the travel ban was essential to protecting the U.S., "The fact is, it's been the same since the beginning, from the first executive order to the second executive order. It's one thing, Chris: It's about protecting Americans."