AP Source: Yates troubled that law disadvantaged Muslims

FILE - In this March 24, 2015 file photo, then-Deputy Attorney General nominee Sally Quillian Yates testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. President Donald Trump’s abrupt, late-night firing of the acting attorney general, who had refused to allow the Justice Department to defend his immigration orders in federal court, sends a clear message to his future Cabinet about his tolerance for public dissent. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this June 28, 2016, file photo, then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates speaks at the Justice Department in Washington. On Monday, Jan. 30, 2017, President Donald Trump fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates after she ordered Justice Department lawyers to stop defending refugee ban. (AP Photo/J. David Ake, File) (The Associated Press)

A person familiar with Sally Yates' thinking says the former acting attorney general has told others she felt Donald Trump's executive order on refugees appeared to favor Christians over Muslims and she was troubled by that.

The person says Yates knew her firing was a likely outcome if she refused to enforce the order, but did not want to resign and leave the problem unresolved for someone else.

The person was not authorized to discuss the situation by name and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Tuesday that Yates was "rightfully removed."

A former spokeswoman for Yates said she was not publicly commenting.