Alex Azar resigns as Secretary of Health and Human Services, citing Capitol Mob

Alex Azar, the Secretary of Health and Human Services resigned earlier this week, citing the violent riot on Capitol Hill ignited by President Donald Trump in his resignation letter obtained by NBC News.

Azar has said his resignation will take effect on January 20 – the same date he would have left office after President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in. The letter was dated January 12, almost a week after the riot.

He said the attack – which left five dead and many injured – and the president’s slow response to condemn it threatens to “tarnish” the administration’s achievements over the past four years. In particular, Operation Warp Speed, which led to the creation of two vaccines to fight the raging coronavirus pandemic.

“The attacks on Capitol Hill were an assault on our democracy and the tradition of peaceful power transitions that the United States of America first brought to the world,” he said. “I implore you to continue to unequivocally condemn all forms of violence, to demand that no one attempt to disrupt inaugural activities in Washington or elsewhere, and to continue to fully support the peaceful and orderly transition of power on January 20, 2021. “

“With the pandemic raging, the continued need to provide vaccines and therapeutics to the American people, and the imperative to ensure a smooth transition to the Biden administration, I determined that he was in the ‘interest of the people we serve as Secretary until the end of the mandate, ”he added.

The Trump administration has been heavily criticized for its vaccine distribution strategy. As of Thursday morning, of more than 30 million doses of vaccine distributed nationwide, just over 11 million doses were administered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The disease, which has shut down businesses across the country and put the economy in bad shape, has claimed the lives of more than 390,000 people since the end of February.

Trump administration officials finally began giving Biden’s team access to critical Covid-19 vaccination data this week.

Azar joins several other Cabinet officials who have already resigned, including Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, both of whom cited Trump’s role in suppressing rioters.