On Wednesday, January 6th, Stephanie Grisham resigned owing to the storming of the US Capitol associated with violent protests and incendiary attacks.
Grisham stepped down from the designation of Chief of Staff, for the first lady Melania Trump. Formerly, she served as the White House Spokeswoman.
She started working for Trump in the year 2015 on the campaign trail. Further, she was employed as the White House Press Secretary by replacing Sarah Sanders.
Being one of the longest-serving officials under Trump’s administration, her resignation along with many others has left a strong mark.
Other Officials Who Resigned
Betsy DeVos, Education Secretary, also stood down from his roles in the wake of the protests at the Washington DC, Capitol Hill. The resignation letter was submitted a day after the protests, effective immediately.
He held Trump accountable for inflaming the avows and said that Trump was the major “inflection point” for him. In addition to him, Elaine Chao, Transportation Secretary, tweeted that she was resigning.
She too was “deeply troubled” by the chaos propagated at the US Capitol. Being the first official to quit her job, she became the motivation for many other staff members.
Furthermore, Former White House Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney, withdrew himself from his roles as the Special U.S. envoy to Northern Ireland. He stated in an interview that he had informed Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State, that he would be resigning.
He was even sure that the rest of his colleagues, would also resign within a time frame of 2 to 3 days. He argued that Trump was not the same personality as he was 8 months back and apparently the same goes with the people advising him now.
Moreover, Matthew Pottinger, the White House Deputy National Security Adviser, stood down from her position, according to reliable sources. Adding to this long list, Rickie Niceta, White House Social Secretary, too resigned from her post in response to the violent protests.
Reason Behind This Act
Trump’s misleading of the people was the major cause, which led to initially, the mob attack at the US Capitol building, in the response of which this series of resignation happened this week.
Repulsed by Trump’s instigating of his supporters to revolt and then later refusal to condemn the same, various officials mentioned above stepped down from their respective roles.
This move surely assured the commoners and non-protesters that the democracy was still intact and not all the staff members of Trump’s administration were in support of this conspiracy.
The Storming of the US Capitol Building and the Allied Protests
The outbreak which occurred on January 5th, and 6th, was the apparent move of Donald Trump, former President of the United States, in order to reverse Joe Biden’s victory and consequently his defeat.
By setting in motion, the emotions of his supporters, Trump motivated them to cause riots and the storming of the US Capitol building at Washington DC.
The horde marched down the Pennsylvania Avenue, prior to which many of the protestors stomped the Capitol Building in order to disrupt the electoral college counting process. This was being done in order to formalize and officially declare Joe Biden’s lawful victory.
Breaking the police parameters, the mob damaged and annihilated the building for several hours which led to the evacuation and immediate lockdown of the building.
Moreover, on January 6th, the protesters gathered on the Ellipse for the “Save America March”. Officials like Donald Trump Jr. and Rudy Giuliani openly supported the protestors.
Trump Jr. warned opponents by using the phrase “we’re coming for you”, and further called for total war in the preceding weeks which ultimately led to the riots.
Consequences of the Protests
The protests which were started by Trump by claiming that the 2020 presidential elections were “stolen” from him, eventually led to international condemnation and much damage.
Being vandalized by the mob, US Capitol building suffered damage and even had to be evacuated. Finally, setting a complete lockdown of the building was the best alternative. In addition to this, a causality count of 5 people has been recorded which includes a police officer and an air force veteran.
Failure of the Capitol police to prevent the ransacking of the building, subjected it to immense scrutiny. According to the allied experts, the Capitol police underestimated the potent threat from the protestors.
Also, many of the media sources claimed that there was the use of stricter tactics and differential treatment during the racial injustice protests in the US as compared to the protests associated with the storming of the Capitol building.
On January 8th, the federal prosecutors declared charges against 13 people associated with the riots. This included a 70-year-old civilian who apparently parked a truck with possible incendiary devices, an assault rifle, and a handgun.
Finally, there were many proposals to remove Donald Trump by various politicians. The leaders of the Congress called upon Pence, the Vice President, to beseech the 25th Amendment in order to impeach Trump.
Such riots at a time of a pandemic which is not even cured completely, only lead to more spread of the SARS-COV-2 virus. Further, these protests by the mob had no logical basis but were built on the false claims made by the former President, Donald Trump, who wanted his position back.
Written by - Khushboo Dhuliya
Edited by - Christeena George
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