Education Secretary Betsy DeVos became the last Trump administration official to resign after the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday night. She said in her resignation letter to President Trump that “the impact your rhetoric had on the situation cannot be confused, and that it is the turning point for me.”
DeVos insisted in his letter that “history will show that we were right in our repeated urgency and support for schools to reopen this year and for all American students to return to learning.” But, he said, “impressionable children” watched the riots at the Capitol and “we each have a moral obligation to exercise good judgment and model the behavior we hope to emulate.”
His resignation came hours after Transport Secretary Elaine Chao, the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, announced her resignation, saying it is effective as of Monday. Chao and DeVos are members of Trump’s cabinet and President-elect Joe Biden has already announced his options to replace them.
“Yesterday our nation experienced a traumatic and totally avoidable act when supporters of the president burst into the Capitol building after a rally that was headed,” Chao said in a letter to colleagues posted to Twitter. “As I’m sure that’s the case for many of you, I’ve been deeply concerned in a way I can’t put aside.”
Both Chao and DeVos have been in the Trump administration since the beginning.
His resignation comes as Trump has expressed frustrations with McConnell, who opposed his call for $ 2,000 stimulus checks and refused to oppose the Electoral College results.
The following Trump administration officials have also resigned:
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Stephanie Grisham, chief of staff to the first lady
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Sarah Matthews, Deputy Press Secretary
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Rickie Niceta, White House Social Secretary
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Matthew Pottinger, Deputy National Security Adviser
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Mick Mulvaney, special envoy to Northern Ireland
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John Costello, Deputy Secretary of Commerce for Intelligence and Security
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Tyler Goodspeed, Acting President of the CEA
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Elinore McCance-Katz, Deputy Secretary of Mental Health and Substance Use
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Anthony Ruggiero, NSC Senior Director for Counterproliferation and Biodefense
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Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, Deputy Secretary of Mental Health and Substance Use
Five senior FAA officials, all named Trump administration politicians, also resigned after the violence at the Capitol. Arjun Garg, Chief Executive Officer and current Acting FAA Deputy Administrator, Brianna Manzelli, Assistant Communications Administrator, Kirk Shaffer, Deputy Airport Administrator, Bailey Edwards, Deputy Administrator for Policy, International Affairs and the Environment, and Andrew Giacini, administrator in legislative matters functions, all resigned.
The resignations come less than two weeks before the Trump administration.
Mulvaney, who was previously the acting White House chief of staff, said early Thursday that he called Mike Pompeo Wednesday night to let him know his resignation. “I can’t do it. I can’t stay,” he told CNBC.
Mulvaney, a former South Carolina congressman, also said he expects more resignations in the next 24 to 48 hours.
“Those who choose to stay, and I’ve talked to a couple of them, choose to stay because they’re concerned that the president can put someone in their place who can make things worse,” he said. “So I don’t condemn those who choose not to resign, I understand, but I can’t stay here. Not after yesterday. You can’t look at yesterday and think ‘I want to be a part of this’ in any way, form or form “.
Mulvaney played numerous roles in the Trump administration. He was director of the Office of Management and Budget and acting chief of staff of the White House, a position he held for nearly 15 months. Trump selected Mulvaney as special envoy to Northern Ireland in March 2020.
John Costello, an official of the Department of Commerce, he said in a statement Thursday later, he “has no choice” but to resign after an “unprecedented attack on the very core of our democracy, instigated by an incumbent president.”
“The president has long ignored and diminished the rule of law and the constitution,” said Costello, the deputy secretary of commerce for intelligence and security. “Yesterday, this culminated in a violent sedition against the United States Congress with the goal of revoking a legally recognized and valid election.”
Kris Van Cleave and Kristin Brown contributed to this report.