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US health chief condemns Capitol riot

AAP
The attacks on the Capitol were an assault on US democracy, Health Secretary Alex Azar says.
Camera IconThe attacks on the Capitol were an assault on US democracy, Health Secretary Alex Azar says.

US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar has told President Donald Trump in a letter the attack on the Capitol could tarnish the legacy of the administration.

In the January 12 letter, Azar cited what he called the administration's successes, including the rapid development of coronavirus vaccines and therapeutics, which he said saved "hundreds of thousands or even millions of American lives".

But, Azar, who will remain on the job until President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20, voiced concern that last week's mob siege of the Capitol building and Trump's unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud "threaten to tarnish these and other historic legacies of this administration".

"The attacks on the Capitol were an assault on our democracy and on the tradition of peaceful transitions of power," Azar wrote in his formal resignation letter.

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