After the violent demonstrations on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, the US Minister of Transport announced her resignation the next day, January 7, becoming the first member of Donald Trump’s cabinet to leave her post after these events. Meanwhile, Joe Biden felt that those who had participated could not be called “protesters” but were, in fact, “insurgents” and “Domestic terrorists”.
On Thursday, January 7, on the Capitol storming, President-elect Joe Biden said of one of the “darkest days” in the United States history. “They were not demonstrators, don’t dare call them demonstrators, they were a rioting crowd, insurgents, domestic terrorists,” he said.
He also accused Donald Trump of having spent his entire presidency “showing his contempt” for democracy, the Constitution, and the American rule of law. For the President-elect, what happened on Capitol Hill was also a “total attack” on American democratic institutions such as the free press and the American intelligence services.
Resignation
U.S. Transportation Minister Elaine Chao is stepping down, according to Washington Post correspondent Josh Dawsey.
“Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is resigning, per two officials. Cites yesterday’s events as reason in email to DOT colleagues, per draft,” declared the journalist on Twitter.
In the minutes that followed, the politician herself declared her departure. Thus, she is the first member of Donald Trump’s cabinet to announce her resignation since the Capitol’s violence on Wednesday.
“Our country has experienced a traumatic event, totally preventable […] which has troubled me so much that I cannot ignore it”, she justified in a statement. As a reminder, Elaine Chao is married to Mitch McConnell, leader of the Republican senators.
Assault on the Capitol
On Wednesday, January 6, a group of supporters of the outgoing President entered the Statues Hall of the Capitol as Congress proceeded to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the November 3 presidential election. Police used tear gas and stun grenades. According to the authorities, the Capitol’s storming left, in addition to four dead, at least 50 police officers injured, some seriously. Sixty-eight people were arrested.
