US homeland security official urges Trump to ‘strongly condemn’ violence at Capitol

Washington, Jan 8 : Acting US Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf on Thursday urged President Donald Trump to “strongly condemn” the violence that took place at the Capitol when his supporters stormed the building a day earlier.
“What transpired yesterday was tragic and sickening,” Wolf said in a statement. “While I have consistently condemned political violence on both sides of the aisle, specifically violence directed at law enforcement, we now see some supporters of the President using violence as a means to achieve political ends. This is unacceptable.” “These violent actions are unconscionable, and I implore the President and all elected officials to strongly condemn the violence that took place yesterday,” he continued.
Wolf also noted that he will remain in his position until the end of the Trump administration to ensure “an orderly transition” to President-elect Joe Biden’s homeland security team, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Shortly after Wolf issued the statement, the White House announced in a release that Trump has withdrawn nomination of him for homeland security secretary.
Wolf, who has been serving as acting homeland security secretary for more than a year, was nominated by Trump last year to formally lead the agency but the nomination was never confirmed by the US Senate.