Trump administration official Mulvaney quits after Capitol riot

US President Donald Trump’s former acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, resigns his post as special envoy to Northern Ireland, saying “I can’t do it. I can’t stay.”

Mulvaney joins a growing list of Trump administration officials who are leaving following the violent riot at the Capitol on Wednesday.

Mulvaney says he called US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Wednesday night to tell him that he was resigning. He served as acting White House chief of staff from January 2019 until March 2020. Before that, he was director of the Office of Management and Budget.

“I can’t do it. I can’t stay,” Mulvaney tells CNBC, which was first to report the resignation. “Those who choose to stay, and I have talked with some of them, are choosing to stay because they’re worried the president might put someone worse in.”

In this October 17, 2019 file photo, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney speaks in the White House briefing room in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)