WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said he will resign on Jan. 20 and condemned the violence in the storming of U.S. Capitol, according to his formal resignation letter leaked Friday.

Azar said in his letter to President Donald Trump, dated Jan. 12, that he will resign at noon on Jan. 20, when U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in.

"The actions and rhetoric following the election, especially during the past week, threaten to tarnish" the legacies of the out-going administration, Azar said, adding "the attacks on the Capitol were an assault on our democracy and on the tradition of peaceful transitions of power."

"I implore you," Azar told Trump in the letter, "to continue to condemn unequivocally any form of violence, to demand that no one attempt to disrupt the (Biden's) inaugural activities in Washington or elsewhere."

The latest Trump Cabinet member to quit in the aftermath of Capitol breach by the president's supporters, Azar's move followed those of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf. Enditem

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