US Labour Secretary Alex Acosta is resigning amid criticism of his brokering of a plea deal for financier Jeffrey Epstein in a child sex case.
Mr Acosta, a former Florida prosecutor, made the announcement from the White House Lawn on Friday, as President Donald Trump stood by his side.
Democrats had called for him to quit over his handling of the Epstein case.
Mr Acosta defended the plea deal in a press conference on Wednesday.
“I wanted to help them,” Mr Acosta said of the 36 victims identified in the case against Epstein, during an hour-long press conference at the labour department earlier this week.
“That is why we intervened,” he said. “And that’s what the prosecutors of my office did - they insisted that he go to jail and put the world on notice that he was and is a sexual predator.”
If I had a daughter and he touched her at 13, I’d go redneck on him so fast he wouldn’t be able to scream Melania! I’d probably go to jail for life but that SOB would not be breathing.
Drumpf washed his hands for the 77th time but they’re still filthy. There’s better be no images or victims out there directly linking him and his tiny hands to Epstein’s smutty activities l.