Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao will resign in protest after a violent mob overran the Capitol after being incited by President Trump, a source with knowledge of her decision said Thursday.
Chao would become the first Cabinet official, and the highest-ranking member of the administration, to resign in the wake of Trump's incendiary rally and its violent aftermath on Wednesday.
"Yesterday, our country experienced a traumatic and entirely avoidable event as supporters of the President stormed the Capitol building following a rally he addressed," Chao wrote in a letter to Transportation Department staff, obtained by The Hill. "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."
Her exit is a sharp rebuke of a president who has alienated even some of his closest supporters with his increasingly unhinged rhetoric. Chao has served as Transportation secretary since Trump's inauguration. She served as Secretary of Labor for eight years under President George W. Bush.
Chao is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who spent much of Wednesday locked in an undisclosed and secure location under armed guard as Trump-backing rioters marauded through the Capitol.