U.S. Transport Secretary Elaine Chao resigned on Thursday because of the crowd’s attack on the Capitol fueled by President Donald Trump’s rhetoric, saying the riot “deeply disturbed” her.
Chao is the wife of Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and is the first member of the Trump Cabinet to step down due to Wednesday’s chaos.
His departure came after several other resignations from Trump administration officials after the turmoil.
“Yesterday, our country experienced a traumatic and totally preventable event when supporters of the president stormed the Capitol building after a rally he addressed,” Chao said in a statement.
“As I am sure that is the case for many of you, it has deeply disturbed me in a way that I simply cannot ignore,” said Chao.
Chao’s husband, along with other Republican members of Congress, angered Trump deeply by refusing to block confirmation of Joe Biden’s election as the next president.
The previous Thursday, Tyler Goodspeed, the acting chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, resigned due to the violent invasion of the Capitol complex, which occurred during the Electoral College’s vote counting procedures in Congress.
“I can confirm Tyler’s resignation starting today,” said an ECA spokeswoman.
“Events at the US Capitol yesterday led Tyler to conclude that his position was untenable.”
Later on Thursday, Eric Dreiband, the deputy attorney general in charge of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, announced that he would step down on Friday.
Trump’s deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger is also leaving, according to a tweet on Thursday by national security adviser Robert O’Brien.
On Thursday, Trump’s former chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, said he resigned his post as special envoy to Northern Ireland because of the riot.
“I called [Secretary of State] Mike Pompeo last night to warn you that I was forgoing this. I can not do this. I can’t stay, “said Mulvaney during an interview with CNBC’s” Squawk Box “program.
“Those who chose to stay, and I talked to some of them, are choosing to stay because they are concerned that the president might put someone worse,” said Mulvaney.
But he also said that other officials could resign.
On Wednesday, First Lady Melania Trump’s chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham – who is the former White House press secretary – resigned in part due to the turmoil.
White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews resigned because of the incident.
“As someone who worked in the halls of Congress, I was deeply disturbed by what I saw today. I will be leaving my position, with immediate effect,” said Matthews in a statement, according to NBC News.
On Thursday, there were more and more calls for President Trump to be removed from office, either through Vice President Mike Pence, invoking the 25th amendment to the Constitution, or through impeachment by Congress.
Senator Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat who is about to become the Senate majority leader, said on Thursday that Trump needs to be fired from office “immediately”.
The president refused to admit that he lost to Biden, claiming without real evidence that he was the victim of widespread electoral fraud.
During a rally outside the White House on Wednesday, Trump encouraged thousands of supporters to march to the Capitol, where Pence was about to preside over the confirmation of Biden’s victory in the Electoral College vote.
A crowd of Trump supporters then gathered around and across the Capitol complex, raiding lawmakers’ offices and Senate chambers. Four people died in connection with the incident, one of whom was shot dead by Capitol Police.
Two improvised explosive devices were found during combat. United States Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund said the reported barrel bombs were considered dangerous. They were deactivated and handed over to the FBI for further analysis.
After the invasion, Trump supporters suggested, again without evidence, that the riot was the work of anti-Trump activists known as Antifa.
Biden was confirmed by Congress on Thursday morning as the winner of the presidential election. He is due to take office on January 20.