The resignation is effective one week from today. Acosta’s deputy, Pat Pizzella, will become acting Secretary. In the Trump administration, acting secretary is a real growth position, since the appointments to the administration’s top jobs are so uniformly wretched. As with so many other disastrous appointments, Trump, or someone, should have seen this scandal coming before Acosta was nominated..
In confirming reports that he had stepped down, Alexander Acosta said, “I do not think it is right and fair for this administration’s labor department to have Epstein as the focus rather than the incredible economy that we have today.” He said that he called President Trump and “told him that I thought the right thing was to step aside. Because cabinet positions are temporary trusts. It would be selfish for me to stay in this position and continue talking about a case that’s twelve years old rather than about the amazing economy we have right now.”
It was the right move for Acosta whether you believe that he needed to be held accountable for the Jeffrey Epstein fiasco or not. The Democrats are desperately trying to tie Epstein to Trump, and the narrative that Acosta was rewarded for helping a Trump “pal” needed to be squashed. I second the reaction of Ann Althouse, who doubled down on her earlier opinion by re-publishing it after she heard the news:
“I do think Acosta should resign. When it mattered most, the cries of a wealthy man overwhelmed those of ordinary people. That’s not what belongs in the Labor Department.”
Here’s an Ugh: Trump said in response to the resignation, “I just want to let you know, this was him, not me — because I’m with him. He’s a tremendous talent. He’s a Hispanic man. He went to Harvard. A great student…We’re going to miss him.”
Talented—Okay.
Hispanic: So what?
Went to Harvard: You mean like the Unibomber, Timothy Leary, mass murderer Amy Bishop, and me? Who cares?
A great student? What difference does it make how good a student a public official was?
[The earlier EA posts on Epstein and Acosta are here...]
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Pointer and Source: Tyler O’Neil
Ethics Alarms 
spot on’
I never second-guess a person’s decision to resign from a cabinet position. If he thought it was the right thing to do, that’s enough for me, and I also think it was wise.
Certainly, it is a political plus for the administration not to have to defend him every time he lauds good economic or employment numbers. If his goal was to help his boss’s administration, I think accomplished that more by leaving than staying — the old “addition by subtraction” non sequitur.
I’ll believe this when I see all the facts. Otherwise, I’ll remain skeptical. Acosta made a convincing defense of his actions, in my view, and I am entirely skeptical of his contemporaries at the state level, and of the reporting of this matter generally.
Thank you for saying that. We let it go way too often. I’m not surprised to find Trump so eager to exploit political correctness, because after all, he’s about as amoral as anyone could be.
I agree with the rest of your objections Trump’s “qualifications” as well.
“In the Trump administration, acting secretary is a real growth position, since the appointments to the administration’s top jobs are so uniformly wretched.”
THIS.
That there is funny, I don’t care who you are….