US Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price resigned amid sharp criticism of his extensive use of taxpayer-funded charter flights for multiple government business trips in stead of available commercial airplanes, the White House said.

In a statement on Saturday, the White House said that Price has resigned on Friday after Trump told reporters he considered Price a good man but that he planned to make a decision by the end of the day about him, the Washington Post reported.

The president had already received Price’s resignation letter, the White House said adding that Trump would designate Don J. Wright as acting secretary, the Washington Post noted.

Price submitted a four-paragraph resignation letter in which he said he regretted that the recent events have created a distraction from the administration’s objectives, the newspaper added.

Source: MENA