Alex Azar, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, resigned earlier this week, citing the violent riot on Capitol Hill ignited by President Donald Trump in his resignation letter obtained by NBC News.
Azar said his resignation would take effect on January 20 – the same date he would step down after President-elect Joe Biden took office. The letter dated 12 January, almost a week after the riot.
He said the attack – which left five dead and many injured – and the president’s slow response to condemn him threaten to “tarnish” the government’s achievements over the past four years. In particular, Operation Warp Speed, which led to the creation of two vaccines to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
“The attacks on the Capitol were an assault on our democracy and the tradition of peaceful power transitions that the United States of America brought to the world for the first time,” he said. “I implore you to continue to unequivocally condemn any form of violence, to demand that no one try to interrupt inaugural activities in Washington or elsewhere and to continue to support without reservation the peaceful and orderly transition of power on January 20, 2021.”
“With the growing pandemic, the continuing need to provide vaccines and medicines to the American people and the imperative to ensure a smooth transition to the Biden government, I have determined that it is in the best interests of the people we serve to remain as Secretary until the end of the term. ”He added.
The Trump administration was heavily criticized for its vaccine distribution strategy. As of Thursday morning, of more than 30 million doses of vaccines distributed across the country, just over 11 million doses were administered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The disease, which closed deals across the country and left the economy in decline, has claimed the lives of more than 390,000 people since the end of February.
Trump administration officials finally started giving Biden’s team access to critical vaccination data from Covid-19 this week.
Azar joins several other Cabinet officials who have already resigned, including transport secretary Elaine Chao and education secretary Betsy DeVos, who cited Trump’s role in inciting protesters.
