President Donald Trump disbanded his two business councils on Wednesday after a wave of departures from the manufacturing council and a plan to disband his strategy and policy group.
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Here are all the members who left Trump's now-disbanded manufacturing council after Charlottesville
Executives started resigning Monday after Trump initially failed to explicitly denounce white nationalists who protested in Charlottesville over the weekend.
President Donald Trump hosts a meeting with business leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington January 23, 2017. From left are Corning CEO Wendell Weeks, Trump and Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky.
Executives started resigning from Trump's manufacturing council on Monday after the president initially failed to explicitly denounce white nationalists who protested in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend.
Here are all the CEOs and leaders who decided to leave the council because of Trump's response, along with a few that left the council prior to the weekend.
Merck CEO Ken Frazier - Monday, 8 a.m.
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Merck CEO Ken Frazier was the first to leave the council following the events in Charlottesville.
"America's leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry, and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all people are created equal," Frazier said in a statement on Monday. "As CEO of Merck, and as a matter of personal conscience, I feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism."
Trump almost immediately fired back,
Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank - Monday night
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich - Monday night
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Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing - Tuesday
Paul left the council on Tuesday. Paul tweeted that he resigned "because it's the right thing for me to do."
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka - Tuesday evening
3M CEO Inge Thulin - Wednesday morning
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Campbell Soup Company CEO Denise Morrison - Wednesday afternoon
Morrison originally said she'd remain on the council, but changed her mind on Wednesday, citing the president's news conference the day before.
"Racism and murder are unequivocally reprehensible and are not morally equivalent to anything else that happened in Charlottesville. I believe the President should have been – and still needs to be – unambiguous on that point," Morrison said in a statement.
"Following yesterday’s remarks from the President, I cannot remain on the Manufacturing Jobs Initiative. I will continue to support all efforts to spur economic growth and advocate for the values that have always made America great."
Shortly after Morrison announced her resignation, Trump tweeted that he would be disbanding the council, along with his other business council.
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United Technologies Corp. CEO Greg Hayes - Wednesday afternoon
Hayes announced his decision to leave the council shortly after Trump disbanded it.
J&J CEO Alex Gorsky - Wednesday afternoon
GE Chairman Jeff Immelt - officially left Wednesday morning, statement came out in the afternoon.
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Corning CEO Wendell Weeks — Wednesday afternoon
After Trump's tweet dissolving the councils, Weeks released a statement saying he condemned "
"As many of you are aware, I have served as an advisor to the Manufacturing Jobs Initiative since January. Corning was asked to participate on this council to offer our deep expertise in innovation and manufacturing and advise the government on how to create jobs and strengthen the innovation and manufacturing sectors," Weeks said in a statement. "I want to underscore that Corning’s participation was not a political statement, nor an endorsement of the Administration’s policies or positions, but instead part of our commitment to innovation, manufacturing leadership, and job creation. I believe we come up with more effective solutions when government and industry work together, and that Corning can make a positive difference by participating in the dialogue."
"However, the events of the last few days have transformed the council’s laudable mission of job creation into a perception of political support for the Administration and its statements. This runs counter to my original intention and is inconsistent with Corning’s Values. As a result I have made the decision to step down from the council."
Others who departed before this week.
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Some other members of the council had left prior to the events in Charlottesville, largely because they were no longer in their jobs.
- Mark Fields, formerly Ford Motor Company,
- after leaving Ford
- Klaus Kleinfeld, formerly CEO of Arconic,
- Mario Longhi, formerly US Steel,
- Elon Musk, Tesla,
- left the council in June
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