Trump shuts down 2 councils amid wave of CEO departures

WASHINGTON - 17 August 2017: US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he is shutting down two jobs councils, amid a wave of resignations by executives in the wake of the president’s response to the violence in Charlottesville, Fox News reported.

"Rather than putting pressure on the businesspeople of the Manufacturing Council & Strategy & Policy Forum, I am ending both. Thank you all!" he wrote on Twitter.

The statement came amid multiple reports that the Strategic and Policy Forum, a group of top business leaders, had already agreed to disband. This is separate from the manufacturing council which has seen multiple resignations since Trump’s initial weekend comments -- those resignations only accelerated after the president doubled down on his remarks at an impromptu press conference Tuesday.

Trump's decision to end both councils, however, seemed to catch companies off-guard. The exodus from the manufacturing board continued even after Trump's tweet.

The head of United Technologies Greg Hayes announced his resignation minutes after the president's announcement.

And minutes before Trump's tweet, Campbell Soup Company CEO Denise Morrison announced her departure, specifically citing the president's controversial remarks at Trump Tower a day earlier.