Ben Goldey drafted his resignation letter on Jan.6 due to discomfort over Boebert’s reaction to the insurgency and its aftermath, the source said, but he waited to officially resign until he could have a hearing with the first-year member, which took place. Friday. The source said Goldey wanted to fully explain his reasoning and quit in person.
Jeff Small, Boebert’s chief of staff, told CNN on Saturday in a statement that “the office does not comment on internal personnel matters with individual employees.”
The resignation was first reported by Axios.
He is the second communications assistant to a Republican lawmaker to step down following the riot on the U.S. Capitol. The communications director of Senator Ted Cruz of Texas – one of the main voices in the Senate who had opposed the results of the electoral college – resigned on Tuesday.
Boebert was also one of many Republicans to vote against the Electoral College vote count for President-elect Joe Biden. The Colorado Republican quickly made a name for herself on Capitol Hill, recording an announcement saying she would carry a gun for protection in Washington, DC, which prompted a response from the acting DC Police Chief . Boebert, who defeated a starter in a surprise primary upset,
largely ran on a message highlighting his commitment to Second Amendment rights.
She has been criticized by other lawmakers for tweeting that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had been evacuated from the House chamber during the insurgency and pushed back against installing metal detectors on the floor of the Room earlier this week.
“It is a shame that Nancy Pelosi is attempting to disarm members of Congress in the very place that needed more protection on January 6,” Boebert said in a statement earlier this week. “It is clear that the metal detectors would not have deterred the acts of violence that we have seen; this political coup does nothing to improve the safety of MPs in the Capitol complex.”
CNN’s Annie Grayer, Kelly Mena, Jake Tapper, Chandelis Duster, Manu Raju and Daniella Diaz contributed to this report.
