By Humeyra Pamuk
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A State Department adviser on Iran who expressed anger on Twitter over the storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump and said Trump needs to go, was fired on Thursday, a U.S. official familiar with the matter said.
Gabriel Noronha, a special adviser to the Iran Action group, which handles the State Department s Iran policy and reports directly to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, accused Trump in a tweet late on Wednesday of inciting the angry mob and said he was no longer fit for office, in a rare public criticism of the president by an administration official.
The chief of the U.S. Capitol Police will resign, according to media reports on Thursday, a day after the federal force charged with protecting Congress was unable to keep supporters of Republican President Donald Trump from storming the building.
A supporter of President Trump sits with one boot on a desk in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He and others left notes on Pelosi’s desk. AFP
WASHINGTON: Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced her resignation on Thursday, the first cabinet minister to join a growing list of US President Donald Trump’s staff leaving over the storming of the Capitol by his supporters. Four people were killed in the clashes that followed.
Chao, the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, said the mob attack “has deeply troubled me in a way that I simply cannot set aside”. She said her resignation would take effect on Monday.
David Shepardson
(Adds details, background)
WASHINGTON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said on Thursday she would resign, citing the storming of the U.S. Capitol by violent supporters of President Donald Trump.
Chao, the wife of Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, was the first Cabinet secretary to announce her departure after the incident on Wednesday. Many lower-level administration officials have announced they would resign, including several White House aides.
Chao said her resignation would take effect on Monday, just nine days before Trump leaves office. She said in an email to staff that the Capitol attack “has deeply troubled me in a way that I simply cannot set aside.”