|
Clarke, 61, who spoke at the Republican National Convention last
summer and campaigned for then-presidential candidate Donald
Trump, submitted his resignation Thursday and will step down at
the end of the day, political consultant Craig Peterson said in
a telephone interview.
The 38-year law enforcement veteran was appointed Milwaukee
County sheriff in 2002 and re-elected several times. Although he
ran as a Democrat, he moved steadily to the right, and currently
supports Trump "a thousand percent," Peterson said.
"After almost 40 years serving the great people of Milwaukee
County, I have chosen to retire to pursue other opportunities,"
Clarke said in a statement published by the Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel.
Although once under consideration for a position in the Trump
administration, Peterson said that was unlikely now. He said
Clarke was not doing media interviews on Thursday, but would
announce his future plans next week.
Politico, citing two sources familiar with the matter, reported
Clarke was still expected to take a job with the Trump
administration. One of the sources told Politico he was expected
to join the White House.
White House spokeswoman Natalie Strom said they had no
announcement at this time regarding Clarke.
Clarke has become one of the most polarizing critics of the
Black Lives Matter movement, which grew out of protests against
police killings of unarmed black men.
Clarke said in May that he was taking a job as assistant
secretary in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, but the
following month media reported that he had withdrawn his
acceptance of the job.
(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Calif., and Ayesha
Rascoe in Washington; Editing by Tom Brown and Andrew Hay)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
