Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf testified at his confirmation hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee on September 23, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Greg Nash | AFP | Getty Images
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf resigned on Monday, becoming the third cabinet official to quit following the US Capitol riot by a crowd of supporters of President Donald Trump.
Transport Secretary Elaine Chao and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos resigned last week due to Wednesday’s mutiny, which interrupted Congressional confirmation of Joe Biden’s election as the next president.
Trump now faces the likelihood of being accused a second time by the House of Representatives, this time for his role in encouraging his supporters to fight to undo Biden’s victory.
Wolf, in a letter to the Department of Homeland Security staff, said his resignation was “justified by recent events, including ongoing judicial decisions and without merit about the validity of my authority as acting secretary”.
“These events and concerns increasingly serve to divert attention and resources from the Department’s important work at this critical time in the transition of power,” wrote Wolf, whose resignation takes effect just before midnight.
He also said he was “sad” to resign, as he planned to stay in office until Biden took office next week.
Pete Gaynor, who is currently the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will be the interim secretary of DHS.
The White House declined to comment on the latest resignation.
Wolf’s departure comes four days after Trump withdrew his nomination to become DHS secretary, as opposed to the acting chief of police.
The White House at the time had said that this action was unrelated to Wolf’s comments about Trump after the riot, in which a Capitol police officer was killed, a mafia member was shot to death and three others died of medical problems.
The violence began shortly after Trump, his eldest son Donald Trump Jr., his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and other speakers made a demonstration outside the White House, where they made baseless allegations about electoral fraud that misled the president for a second term.
Wolf urged Trump to condemn the attack, which he called “tragic and unhealthy”.
“This is unacceptable. These violent actions are unscrupulous and I implore the president and all elected officials to strongly condemn the violence that occurred yesterday,” Wolf wrote in a statement at the time.
“Any appearance of incitement to violence by an elected official goes against who we are as Americans. All Americans have the right to protest peacefully, but once these protests become violent, we must enforce our laws and bring those responsible to justice. justice – regardless of political motivations, “he added.
Wolf also wrote that protesters should be held responsible for their actions.
DeVos, in his letter of resignation to Trump, had written guilty that the president’s “rhetoric” had ignited the crowd and “is a tipping point for me.”
Chao, in a statement, said she was “deeply concerned” about the riot. “
“Our country experienced a traumatic and totally preventable event when supporters of the president stormed the Capitol building after a rally he spoke at,” Chao said at the time.