Former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, who was serving as special envoy to Northern Ireland, resigned from the post on Thursday a day after pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol building.
“I can’t do it. I can’t stay,” Mulvaney told CNBC, saying called Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Wednesday evening to inform him of his resignation.
Mulvaney said he expects other administration officials to leave as well in the coming days.
“Those who choose to stay, and I have talked with some of them, are choosing to stay because they’re worried the president might put someone worse in,” he said.
Following a rally outside the White House where President Trump repeated his claim that November’s election was rife with voter fraud and insisted he had won, a large group of Trump supporters headed to the Capitol where they eventually broke past Capitol Police and forced their way into the halls of Congress. The Senate floor, where a joint session of Congress was being held to certify the presidential election results, was evacuated.
Mulvaney’s decision comes after several other high-profile officials resigned Wednesday following the chaos, including Stephanie Grisham, who is chief of staff and press secretary to first lady Melania Trump, and White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews.
National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien and Deputy Chief of Staff Chris Liddell are also reportedly considering resigning.
The former South Carolina congressman served as Trump’s budget director before being tapped as acting White House chief of staff in January, 2019. He served in that position until May of last year, when he became the U.S. special envoy for Northern Ireland.
On Thursday morning after Congress finally certified the Electoral College results, Trump committed to a peaceful transfer of power on Inauguration Day.
“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th,” Trump said.