High-ranking State Department official resigns in protest over Trump’s actions regarding racial injustice

• A top State Department official has resigned in protest over President Donald Trump’s “comments and actions surrounding racial injustice” in the country.
• At age 30, Mary Elizabeth Taylor was both the youngest person and the first Black woman to serve as the assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs.
• She declared that the president’s handling of recent events “cut sharply against my core values and convictions.”

A top official from the State Department has resigned on Thursday in protest over President Donald Trump’s “comments and actions surrounding racial injustice” in the country.

Mary Elizabeth Taylor has served as the assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs since October 2018. At age 30, she is both the youngest person and the first Black woman to serve at the position.

Taylor announced her resignation to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a letter obtained by The Washington Post.

Taylor wrote, “Moments of upheaval can change you, shift the trajectory of your life, and mold your character. The President’s comments and actions surrounding racial injustice and Black Americans cut sharply against my core values and convictions.”

“I must follow the dictates of my conscience and resign as Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs.”

Taylor has served since the beginning of the Trump administration, first as the White House’s deputy director of nominations.

Her letter to Pompeo continued, “I am deeply grateful to you, Mr. Secretary, for empowering me to lead this team and strategically advise you over these last two years.”

“I appreciate that you understand my strong loyalty to my personal convictions and values, particularly in light of recent events.”

Nationwide protests calling for racial justice gained momentum after the May 25 incident, in which George Floyd, a Black man, died after a white police officer kneeled into his neck for more than eight minutes.

Trump has since responded by calling the protesters “thugs” and threatening to use the military to help quell the protests.

Among the president’s controversial statements involved him tweeting the Civil Rights-era phrase, “When the looting starts the shooting starts.”

Source: New York Post