WASHINGTON (AP) – A steady stream of Trump administration officials are beating an early path to the exits as a protest against the deadly siege of the U.S. Capitol this week even as others wrestling with the stay-or-go question conclude that they owe it to the public to see things through to the end.
Some of Trump’s critics don’t give those in the early-exit caucus much credit for walking away from their jobs with less than two weeks left in the administration, seeing it as little more than a face-saving effort.
“Nobody is fooled by these last-second, come-to-Jesus conversions,” said Rick Wilson, co-founder of the Lincoln Project, a group of Republicans fiercely critical of Trump.
Trump’s education and transportation secretaries, his acting chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers and deputy national security adviser are among at least a dozen senior administration officials who have announced their resignations since Wednesday’s attack by Trump supporters on the Capitol.
Serving under Trump has been a test for many aides who have abided some of the president’s most provocative actions, including his embrace of authoritarians, a habit of coarsely belittling political adversaries and the ease and frequency with which he’s deployed falsehoods for personal benefit.