Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is preparing to resign, becoming the first Cabinet secretary to leave after President Trump incited a mob that attacked the Capitol on Wednesday, January 6, 2020.
Chao is the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and has served in the Cabinet all four years of the Trump presidency.
She told others of her decision early Thursday afternoon, according to two individuals familiar with her plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose the matter.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) called for Trump’s immediate removal from office, either by his Cabinet or through impeachment, describing the violence at the Capitol as “an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president.”
