Look Back: Members of Trump’s Cabinet Resigning, Anjali Layman

On January 6, 2021, President Donald Trump gave a speech at the Washington Monument in which he falsely claimed that the results of the 2020 election were invalid, instigating an angry mob. Afterward, a mass of Trump supporters gathered at the entrance of the United States Capitol building in Washington D.C. and participated in a deadly riot, entering and defacing the Captiol building. In the wake of these unprecedented events, members of Trump’s cabinet, including loyal associates that had been on his staff since the beginning of his presidency, resigned. The following is a list of members of the Trump administration who stepped down after the riot:

1. Betsy DeVos – Education Secretary
2. Elaine Chao – Transportation Secretary
3. Mick Mulvaney – Trump’s former Chief of Staff and Special Envoy to Northern Ireland
4. Matthew Pottinger – Deputy National Security Adviser
5. John Costello – Deputy Assistant Director at the Commerce Department, one of the countries most senior cybersecurity officials
6. Tyler Godspeed – White House Council of Economic Advisers Acting Chairman
7. Eric S. Dreiband – Assistant Attorney General
8. Sarah Matthews – Deputy White House Press Secretary
9. Elinore F. McCance-Katz – Assistant Secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services
10. Rickie Niceta – Social Secretary
11. Stephanie Grisham – First Lady’s Chief of Staff
12. Rob Greenway- Official on the National Security Council 
13. Anthony Ruggiero- Official on the National Security Council 
14. Ryan Tully- Official on the National Security Council 
15. Mark Vandroff- Official on the National Security Council 
16. Erin Walsh- Official on the National Security Council 

Democrats Secure the Senate by a Hair: The Ossoff and Warnock Win, Shania Flores

The Democrats won back control of the Senate by a hair with Reverend Raphael Warnock winning his race against Kelly Loeffler and Jon Ossoff winning his race against David Perdue in the Georgia runoff elections on January 5th, 2020. While Ossoff won the election with 50.6% of the vote, Rev. Warnock won the race against Loeffler with 51.0% of the vote. 4.4 million votes were cast during the runoff election, and the turnout was very strong among both parties, especially among Black and Latino voters. The Democrats haven’t controlled the Senate since 2014, and haven’t had control of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives since 2011. Both wins are historic as Warnock becomes the first Black senator in Georgia history while Ossoff becomes the first Jewish senator in Georgia history as well as the youngest elected to the Senate since President Biden in 1972.