Trump's Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta resigns

Labor Secretary Alex Acosta resigned amid the fallout over a plea deal he made with wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein, a sex offender charged with human trafficking girls as young as 14.

President Donald Trump announced Acosta's resignation Friday morning with Acosta at his side. Trump said the secretary called him Friday morning to say that the decision to resign was his.

“I thought the right thing was to step aside,” Acosta said.

Trump, who had defended Acosta after Epstein's arrest last week, praised him as a “great labor secretary, not a good one," and added, Acosta did a “very good job.”

The White House said Acosta's deputy, Pattrick Pizzella, would become the acting labor secretary.

Acosta, formerly a federal prosecutor, had defended his handling of the 2007 case and said he was "pleased" prosecutors were moving forward against Epstein, who was arrested on July 6 on charges of sex-trafficking. Epstein pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan federal court on July 8. The indictment alleges he "sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes" in New York City and Palm Beach, Florida.