Betsy Devos
Betsy DevosReuters

US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos submitted her resignation on Thursday evening in the wake of the violent riots at the US Capitol on Wednesday, CNN reported.

In a resignation letter quoted by NBC News, DeVos wrote to Trump, "There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me."

DeVos is the second Cabinet member to resign in the wake of the incident. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao also resigned earlier after taking "time to absorb" the insurrection on Capitol Hill and the President's response to it.

Chao discussed the matter with her staff and her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, before deciding by around 11:00 a.m. Thursday that she would resign, effective Monday, according to CNN.

Earlier on Thursday, Trump released a video in which he condemned Wednesday’s violent riots on Capitol Hill and called for unity during the transition to the incoming Biden administration.

“America is and must always be a nation of law and order. The demonstrators who infiltrated the Capitol have defiled the seat of American democracy,” he said, adding that those who took part in the violence “do not represent our country” and vowed that those who broke the law “will pay”.

Trump proceeded to call for calm to be restored and added, “We must get on with the business of America.” On his legal efforts to overturn the election results, he said, “I was fighting to defend American democracy.”

Now that Congress has certified the election results, “a new administration will be inaugurated on January 20. My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power. This moment calls for healing and reconciliation.”