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Trump officially announces Labor Secretary resignation

This morning, President Trump announced the resignation of Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, after many politicians called for Acosta to step down. Years ago, as a federal prosecutor, Acosta struck a plea deal with billionaire political donor Jeffrey Epstein after Epstein was accused of running a sex-trafficking ring and abusing scores of underage girls.

The light sentence led to Epstein, who has hobnobbed with both President Trump and former President Bill Clinton in the past, serving only 13 months in prison. He was allowed to leave prison five days a week to go to work. Public outcry and activism by politicians like Sen. Ben Sasse led to Epstein facing new charges this month. Epstein pleaded not guilty to sex-trafficking charges in federal court on July 8.

President Trump had praised Acosta just days earlier as “a great Labor Secretary, not a good one.” But Acosta said he thought resigning was the right thing to do.

“The goal here was straightforward — put Epstein behind bars,” Acosta said about his handling of Epstein’s case back in 2007. “We believe we proceeded appropriately.”

Epstein visited Trump’s resort, Mar-a-Lago, years ago. Epstein also had a personal friendship with the Clintons. However, in the wake of the scandal, both Trump and the Clintons issued statements denouncing Epstein and saying they had no knowledge or involvement in his sex-trafficking ring.