Mick Mulvaney, former Chief of Staff to US President Donald Trump, announced his resignation from a diplomatic post on Thursday in protest at the president’s coup d’état against Congress.
“I can’t stay here after yesterday. You can’t look at yesterday and think, somehow I want to be a part of that,” he told CNBC.
Mulvaney, who went from Chief of Staff to Special Envoy in Northern Ireland, said he had announced his resignation to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
“I can’t, I can’t stay here,” he said, noting that other White House officials are considering stepping down.
“Those who choose to continue, and I have spoken to many of them, do so because they are afraid they will make someone worse,” he said.
Thousands of Trump supporters raided Congress, disrupting procedures to confirm Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of the November presidential election.
After the riots, which Trump did not condemn, Deputy National Security Adviser Matt Pottinger resigned.
Stephanie Grisham, a former White House press secretary and spokesman for First Lady Melania Trump, also left office.
News broadcasts indicated that Marc Short, Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, was not allowed to enter the White House, apparently in retaliation for ignoring Trump’s request to block Biden’s certification.
Outrage in Washington over the unrest is fueling speculation that other top Trump administration officials will resign.
Biden will assume the chair on January 20.