Trump’s transportation secretary resigns over US Capitol violence

US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is resigning effective Monday, becoming the highest-ranking member of US President Donald Trump’s administration to resign in protest after the pro-Trump insurrection at the Capitol.

In a statement Thursday, Chao, who is married to Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, said the violent attack on the Capitol “has deeply troubled me in a way that I simply cannot set aside.”

She says her department will continue to cooperate with President-elect Joe Biden’s designated nominee to head the department, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

Then-Transportation Secretary-designate Elaine Chao testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017. (AP Photo/Zach Gibson, File)

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