FBI Director James Comey has been fired and removed from office.

The White House released a statement Tuesday saying Trump informed Comey he has been terminated and removed from office.

The statement said Trump was acting on recommendations from Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

A search for a new permanent director will begin immediately.

In the president's letter to Comey, he told the now-former FBI director that, "While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Dept. of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau."

He said it was vital to restore public trust and confidence in the FBI.

Comey became FBI director under President Barack Obama in September 2013, after a career in the U.S. Dept. of Justice under President George W. Bush.

Comey came under fire during the 2016 presidential election for his handling of candidate Hillary Clinton's email investigation. In October announced in a letter to Congress that the FBI had learned about a new cache of emails that may be pertinent to the Clinton investigation on the computer of an aide's husband.

The Justice Dept. warned against sending the letter, but Comey did so anyway. There is some question as to whether the revelation affected Clinton's standing in the presidential race. Concerns about the emails turned out to be unfounded, according to a second letter Comey sent in November 2016.

Letters from Rosenstein and Sessions indicate it was Comey's handling of the Clinton investigation that led to his firing. Rosenstein in particular said Comey was wrong to close the Clinton investigation in July 2016 without involving the Justice Dept.

"At most, the Director should have said the FBI had completed its investigation and presented its findings to federal prosecutors. The Director now defends his decision by asserting that he believed Attorney General Loretta Lynch has a conflict. But the FBI Director is never empowered to supplant federal prosecutors and assume command of the Justice Dept."

Rosenstein also says statements made in the months after show Comey does not understand the gravity of his mistakes, and the public will not trust the FBI until the agency has a director who does.

Last week Comey testified about the emails on Capitol Hill, and the FBI had to correct a sentence in his sworn testimony about the October email incident.

Comey told lawmakers that Huma Abedin, a top aide to Hillary Clinton, had sent “hundreds and thousands” of emails to her husband’s laptop, including some with classified information.

On Tuesday, the FBI said in a two-page letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee that only “a small number” of the thousands of emails found on the laptop had been forwarded there while most had simply been backed up from electronic devices.

Most of the email chains on the laptop containing classified information were not the result of forwarding, the FBI said.

Calls for Comey to testify again

Democrats, who blasted Comey for his handling of the Clinton case, were upset with the decision to fire him Tuesday.

The FBI under Comey was investigating President Trump's alleged ties to Russia and that country's influence in the 2016 election. Democrats are concerned Trump will put someone in power who will close that investigation. 

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, who sits on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, called for open testimony from Comey on the status of the investigation:

“I have been long been a critic of Director Comey, for his views about surveillance and torture, his stance on secret law and his conduct during the investigation into Secretary Clinton. But Donald Trump’s decision to fire him now, in the midst of an investigation into Trump associates and their ties to Russia, is outrageous. Director Comey should be immediately called to testify in an open hearing about the status of the investigation into Russia and Trump associates at the time he was fired.

“There can be no question that a fully independent special counsel must be appointed to lead this investigation. At this point, no one in Trump’s chain of command can be trusted to carry out an impartial investigation.

“The president would do well to remember that in America, the truth always comes out.” 

Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the committee, concurred, also calling for the appointment of special counsel for an independent investigation:

“The President’s actions today are shocking. It is deeply troubling that the President has fired the FBI director during an active counterintelligence investigation into improper contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia. 

“The administration insists there’s no ‘there there,’ yet President Trump has so far fired the acting Attorney General, nearly every U.S. attorney, and now the Director of the FBI. In addition, this President’s choice for Attorney General has been forced to recuse himself, and the National Security Advisor has resigned, as a result of undisclosed contacts with Russian officials.

“Now more than ever, it is vital that our ongoing investigation is completed in a credible and bipartisan way. We also need to hear directly from former Director Comey about the FBI investigation and related events.

“The President’s actions today make it clear to me that a Special Counsel also must be appointed.  That’s the only way the American people will be able to trust the results of any DOJ investigation. The only way this Administration can begin to demonstrate a commitment to the rule of law, which has so far been sorely lacking, is to cooperate fully with the ongoing congressional investigations and to support the appointment of an independent special counsel.”

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, issued this statement Tuesday:

“Now it is more clear than ever that we need an independent commission to get to the truth of Russia’s interference with our election.”

Republicans in general showed considerable less outrage over the firing, as shown by Sen. Lindsey Graham's, R-South Carolina) statement:

“I know this was a difficult decision for all concerned.

“I appreciate Director Comey’s service to our nation in a variety of roles.

"Given the recent controversies surrounding the director, I believe a fresh start will serve the FBI and the nation well. I encourage the President to select the most qualified professional available who will serve our nation’s interests.” 

However, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, reiterated his call for a special congressional committee to investigate Russian interference in the election.

“While the President has the legal authority to remove the Director of the FBI, I am disappointed in the President's decision to remove James Comey from office. James Comey is a man of honor and integrity, and he has led the FBI well in extraordinary circumstances. I have long called for a special congressional committee to investigate Russia's interference in the 2016 election. The president's decision to remove the FBI Director only confirms the need and the urgency of such a committee.”

Sen. Marco Rubio has not issued a statement yet.

Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.