Betsy DeVos resigned as education secretary on Thursday, citing the influence of President Trump’s “rhetoric” on the siege at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
News of her resignation comes just hours after Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao resigned, and other members of Trump’s Cabinet are reportedly discussing invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from power.
“We should be highlighting and celebrating your administration’s many accomplishments on behalf of the American people,” DeVos said in her resignation letter on Thursday. “Instead, we are left to clean up the mess caused by violent protesters overunning the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to undermine the people’s business. There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me.”
She added, “Impressionable children are watching all of this, and they are learning from us. I believe we each have a moral obligation to exercise good judgment and model the behavior we hope they would emulate. They must know from us that America is greater than what transpired yesterday.”
