Embattled Labor Secretary Alex Acosta will step down in a week. Talking with reporters at the White House this morning, President Trump said he called Acosta and insisted that it was his decision to step down. Acosta was unable to knock down a growing controversy over his role in a controversial plea deal for sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. That happened in 2008 when Acosta was a U.S. attorney in Florida. Critics have called it a lenient, sweetheart deal. Epstein is facing new federal charges in a case that has been filed in New York.
Epstein is a wealthy financier and a former Trump friend. Trump has said the two men had a "falling out" years ago.
Photo: President Donald Trump stands with Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, who announced his resignation while talking to the media, at the White House on July 12, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)