Transportation secretary Elaine Chao resigns after pro-Trump Capitol riots

• US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced Thursday that she is resigning following pro-Trump riots at the Capitol.
• Chao is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and is the latest in a number of Trump administration officials who resigned after Wednesday's violence.
• She is the first cabinet secretary to resign, and her departure comes as her husband and other Republican lawmakers implore administration officials not to resign before Trump leaves office.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced Thursday that she is resigning.

"Yesterday, our country experienced a traumatic and entirely avoidable event as supporters of the President stormed the Capitol building following a rally he addressed," she said in a statement. "As I'm sure is the case with many of you, it has deeply troubled me in a way that I simply cannot set aside."

"Today, I am announcing my resignation as U.S. Secretary of Transportation," effective Monday, the statement said. "We will help my announced successor Mayor Pete Buttigieg, with taking on the responsibility of running this wonderful department."

Chao is the first cabinet secretary to resign following Wednesday's pro-Trump riots at the US Capitol.

She is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and is the latest in a series of Trump administration officials who have resigned since Wednesday.

Others who resigned include the former White House press secretary and First Lady Melania Trump's chief of staff Stephanie Grisham; the deputy White House press secretary Sarah Matthews; deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger; the White House social secretary Rickie Niceta; the US's special envoy to Northern Ireland and former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney; and other officials from the Commerce Department and National Security Council.

Chad Wolf, the acting Secretary of Homeland Security, also condemned the violence, saying in a statement that "we now see some supporters of the President using violence as a means to achieve political ends. These violent actions are unconscionable, and I implore the President and all elected officials to strongly condemn the violence that took place yesterday."

Shortly after his statement was released, the White House announced that Trump had withdrawn Wolf's nomination to be permanent DHS secretary.

Wednesday's scene at the US Capitol resembled something out of a dystopian novel and violent throngs of Trump supporters breached barricades, broke into the Capitol building, ransacked offices, stole and vandalized properties, and made it as far as the House and Senate floors.

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