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WASHINGTON (AP) – Mick Mulvaney, Donald Trump’s former White House chief of staff, announced Thursday that he resigned from his diplomatic post to protest violence by mobs of the president’s supporters on Capitol Hill.
“I can’t stay here, not after yesterday. You can’t look at that yesterday and think that I want to be a part of it in some way, shape or form, “Mulvaney told CNBC television.
Mulvaney, who had been transferred from chief of staff to special envoy for Northern Ireland, said he told Secretary of State Mike Pompeo he was resigning.
“I can not do it. I can’t stay, ”he told CNBC, indicating that other White House staff members were watching the exits.
“Those who choose to stay, and I have talked to some of them, choose to stay because they are concerned that the president will make someone worse,” he said.
On Wednesday, thousands of Trump supporters walked out of a rally with the president, then stormed Congress, temporarily halting procedures to certify Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of the November presidential election.
In the immediate aftermath of the violence, which Trump has yet to condemn, deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger resigned.
Another outlet was Stephanie Grisham, a former White House press secretary who now works as a spokesperson for First Lady Melania Trump.
The US media reported that Marc Short, Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, had been blocked from entering the White House, apparently in retaliation for Pence’s decision to ignore Trump’s demand to block Biden’s certification.
Outrage in Washington over the day’s events fueled growing speculation that senior figures in the Trump administration might be leaving.
Biden will assume the presidency when he is sworn in on January 20.
