Obama Aide Van Jones Resigns After GOP Attacks

"Green jobs" czar steps down

President Obama's environmental adviser Van Jones resigned from his post late Saturday evening after he came under fire for a series of inflammatory statements he made about Republicans, the White House said early Sunday morning.

Jones, Obama's green jobs "czar," was caught on tape in an expletive-packed rant, directly attacking Republicans in the Senate who he said abused their majority position in the past to push legislation through. He told Politico after the statements were released that the comments were "inappropriate" and "offensive."

In his resignation statement, Jones summed up GOP attacks against a separate charge involving his name's appearance on a petition connected to the Sept. 11 tragedy as a "smear campaign" designed to make support for him waver.

"They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide," Jones said in the statement.

The White House kept mum about Jones Friday, telling reporters only Jones would remain as part of Obama's administration.

Read more: MSNBC

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