As the US presidency changes hands on Wednesday, one of the Trump administration's remaining Cabinet members will officially remove his own name from the payroll. CNN reports that on Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar submitted his letter of resignation to President Trump, and while he listed the accomplishments he saw at the department under his watch, he also took what appeared to be a veiled jab at his soon-to-be ex-boss. "Unfortunately, the actions and rhetoric following the election, especially during this past week, threaten to tarnish these and other historic legacies of this Administration," Azar noted, calling the Jan. 6 Capitol riot "an assault on our democracy." Azar also pleaded with Trump to keep condemning violence and warn against anyone trying anything that might upend next week's inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
The Guardian notes Azar will formally step down at noon on Wednesday, right as Biden is sworn in. On Friday night, Azar slammed CNN's coverage of his resignation, in which Anderson Cooper said Azar used his letter to take a final "swipe" at Trump, per Fox News. Azar posted on Twitter that "I handed in my letter this week along with every other political appointee," and that "I am still here serving the American people at HHS" until Biden takes over. He posted a photo of his letter to the president that cited the work the health department had done with him at the helm, including its "remarkable response" to the pandemic—most notably, the rapid development of two vaccines. CNN notes that Azar neglected to mention the current US death toll of 390,000, the initial delay in rolling out tests, and the downplaying of the virus and safety guidelines by Trump and others. (More Alex Azar stories.)
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