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Azar submitted the standard resignation letter for a Cabinet secretary to offer an incumbent president, dated January 12 and obtained by CNN on Friday.
In the letter to President Trump, Azar outlined what he considered to be the best accomplishments of the HHS over the past four years.
“Unfortunately, the actions and rhetoric that followed the election, especially over the past week, threaten to tarnish these and other historical legacies of this administration,” Azar wrote in the letter.
“The attacks on Capitol Hill were an attack on our democracy and on the tradition of peaceful transitions of power that the United States of America first brought to the world,” Azar wrote in the letter, first reported. by the New York Times.
“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. . “
Azar has said he plans to stay in his role until January 20, when President-elect Joe Biden’s team takes over.
Azar first mentions the coronavirus pandemic and it was, by far, the biggest development of Trump’s presidency. More than 390,000 Americans have died in the pandemic and more than 23 million have been diagnosed with the virus.
But in his letter, Azar does not mention those numbers, the federal government’s failure to warn of a pandemic for weeks, or the much delayed deployment of tests that public health experts say have slowed the US response for weeks. crucial weeks that could have slowed the spread. virus.
Azar does not mention disagreements over the danger of the virus – Trump has repeatedly claimed it will “go away” – nor does he mention arguments over prescribing or even recommending the use of masks to slow the spread.
Instead, Azar characterizes his department’s actions as swift and aggressive.
“As we mourn every lost life, our first aggressive and comprehensive efforts have saved hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of American lives,” Azar wrote in the letter.
“Operation Warp Speed achieved in nine months what many doubted would be possible in a year and a half or more,” said Azar.
“To date, we have two safe and effective vaccines given to millions of Americans, and more vaccines are expected to be licensed shortly.”
While it is true that the vaccines have been developed in record time and are remarkably effective, rollout has been slower than promised.
Operation Warp Speed has repeatedly promised that 20 million Americans will have been vaccinated by the end of December. As of Friday, three days after Azar sent the letter, 10.6 million people had been vaccinated.
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