Senior State Department official, Mary Elizabeth Taylor resigns over Donald Trump’s response to anti-racism protests

A senior US State Department official has resigned over President Donald Trump’s response to the protests against racial injustice and police brutality across the nation.

Mary Elizabeth Taylor, the assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs, submitted her resignation on Thursday, according to the Washington Post.

Her departure was directly related to the president’s response to racial injustice.

According to her resignation letter, which was quoted by the newspaper, Taylor wrote: “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,” she added in the letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the newspaper reported.

A State Department spokesman declined to comment, saying “we do not comment on personnel matters.”

Taylor’s resignation comes as Trump continues to employ a forceful approach to the ongoing BLM protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, who was murdered by a white Minneapolis cop.

Mary Elizabeth Taylor, a member of the Republican Party served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs from 2018 to 2020.