WASHINGTON (CBS NEWS) — Embattled Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta has announced he is resigning.
Acosta made the announcement himself, accompanying the president out of the White House residence before the president’s departure for a trip to Milwaukee.
Acosta had defended his handling of a decade-old plea deal with financier Jeffrey Epstein on sex crime charges when Acosta was the U.S. attorney in Florida’s Southern District. Acosta faced renewed scrutiny over the case after Epstein was arrested on new federal sex trafficking charges in New York last week.
He told reporters he didn’t want Epstein to distract from the Trump administration’s accomplishments. President Trump said that Acosta called him Friday morning and said it was entirely Acosta’s decision.
Acosta will leave the administration in seven days.
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