Mary Elizabeth Taylor, assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs, has resigned her post, citing the Trump administration's response to nationwide protests over racial injustice and police brutality.

Taylor wrote in a resignation letter "the president's comments and actions surrounding racial injustice and Black Americans cut sharply against my core values and convictions.

… I must follow the dictates of my conscience and resign as Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs."

The resignation of Taylor, one of the highest-ranking Black women in the Trump administration, comes as the president continues to lean toward using force for ongoing protests sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police.

Taylor sent a message to her team of State Department employees acknowledging Floyd's "horrific murder" earlier this month.