Following the storming of the U.S. Capitol by a group of pro-Trump protesters, where the Senate chamber was breached, members of the Donald Trump Administration have tendered their resignations.

On Jan. 8 (Singapore time), Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao resigned from Cabinet.

Chao is married to Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, who was in the Capitol before the pro-Trump protesters breached security and clashed with the police.

Attack disrupted count of Electoral College votes

The attack interrupted the counting of the Electoral College votes that confirmed Joe Biden's victory in the Nov. 2020 U.S. presidential election.

After the protesters dispersed, Congress resumed the count and officially certified Biden and Kamala Harris as the next president and vice president of the United States.

In a tweet announcing her resignation, Chao cited the attack as a reason for her stepping down.

It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve the U.S. Department of Transportation. pic.twitter.com/rFxPsBoh6t

— Sec. Elaine Chao (@SecElaineChao) January 7, 2021

Chao was then joined by another Cabinet member, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.

In a letter to President Trump, DeVos arguably went a step further than Chao by condemning Trump's rhetoric and linking it to the attack.

According to the New York Times, she said:

"We should be highlighting and celebrating your administration’s many accomplishments on behalf of the American people. Instead, we are left to clean up the mess caused by violent protesters overrunning the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to undermine the people’s business.

That behavior was unconscionable for our country. There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me."

DeVos and Chao have been two of Trump's longest-serving Cabinet members, with Trump having announced he would appoint them to his Cabinet back in 2016 after winning his election, and before he was sworn in.

Possibility of the 25th Amendment

Other non-Cabinet level officials have also resigned in wake of the attack, which left four people dead so far and saw police discovering pipe bombs in Republican and Democrat offices.

Deputy National Security Advisor Matthew Pottinger resigned on Jan. 7 (Singapore time), with CNN reporting that other officials are also considering resignations.

According to CNN, citing multiple people, White House staffers were "shaken" by Trump's "borderline enthusiastic" response to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, and did not want to condemn his supporters.

The Cabinet-level resignations may be related to the report that Vice President Mike Pence is resisting calls to use the 25th Amendment to the Constitution to remove Trump from office.

Under the 25th Amendment, the Vice President and a majority of Cabinet may declare that the President is unable to discharge the duties of his office, and the Vice President becomes Acting President.

However, according to Reuters, Pence opposes taking this step, opening up the possibility that Trump could be impeached a second time by Congress.

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Top image from Elaine Chao and Betsy DeVos's Facebook pages.