U.S. health secretary Azar resigns, cites Capitol attack - File

Record ID: 1596178

  • Title: U.S. health secretary Azar resigns, cites Capitol attack - File
  • Date: 16th January 2021
  • Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FILE - FEBRUARY 13, 2020) (UNRESTRICTED POOL) AZAR PREPARING TO TESTIFY BEFORE THE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE (SOUNDBITE) (English) SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES ALEX AZAR, SAYING: "The budget reflects how seriously we take the threat of other infectious diseases, such as the China coronavirus, which has been a top priority."
  • Embargoed: 30th January 2021 03:08
  • Keywords: Alex Azar resigns Donald Trump HHS U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary attack on the Capitol insurrection
  • Location: WASHINGTON, D.C. AND BETHESDA, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES
  • City: WASHINGTON, D.C. AND BETHESDA, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Government/Politics,United States,Editors' Choice
  • Reuters ID: LVA002DVGCV2F
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar has resigned, citing last week's attack on the Capitol, CNN reported on Friday (January 15).
    Azar told President Donald Trump in a letter this week that the attack on the Capitol could tarnish the legacy of the administration.
    In the Jan. 12 letter, Azar cited what he called the administration's successes, including the rapid development of coronavirus vaccines and therapeutics, which he said saved "hundreds of thousands or even millions of American lives."
    But, Azar, who will remain on the job until President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20, voiced concern that last week's mob siege of the Capitol building and Trump's unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud "threaten to tarnish these and other historic legacies of this administration."
    "The attacks on the Capitol were an assault on our democracy and on the tradition of peaceful transitions of power," Azar wrote in his formal resignation letter.
    (Production: Njuwa Maina)
  • Copyright Holder: POOL (CAN SELL)
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