Ducklo, deputy press secretary of the White House, resigned after threatening a reporter.

TJ Ducklo resigned from his position as deputy press secretary of the White House after a brief dispute over the appropriate punishment after threatening a reporter. Ducklo was initially suspended for a week without pay on Friday after Vanity Fair came out with a story revealing that he had threatened Tara Palmeri of Politico. The move led to a setback, as some said the punishment was not strong enough, especially as President Joe Biden promised that someone in his contempt-seeking team would be fired. (Dan Kois of Slate wrote a piece on Friday with the caption: “Just Fire TJ Ducklo!”

Jen Psaki, press secretary, confirmed that Ducklo had resigned. “We have accepted the resignation of TJ Ducklo after a conversation with him tonight,” Psaki said in a statement. “We are committed to striving every day to meet the standard set by the President to treat others with dignity and respect, with civility and with value for others through our words and actions.” Ducklo also issued a statement. No words can express my regret, my embarrassment and my disgust for my behavior. I used language that no one ever needs to hear from anyone, especially in a situation where she’s just trying to do her job. “It was a horrible, disrespectful and unacceptable language,” he said. Ducklo went on to say that he was determined to “earn the trust of all who have let me down because of my intolerable actions.”

The resignation comes a day after Vanity Fair reported that Ducklo made “derogatory and misogynistic remarks” to Palmeri in a call outside the record, while telling a story about his relationship with Alexi McCammond, Axios’ reporter. Allegedly, Ducklo allegedly said that Palmeri was’ jealous’ of their relationship, adding that she was jealous that an unknown man McCammond ‘wanted to fuck’ and not you ‘. He also warned that he would destroy her reputation if she continued with the story. “I will destroy you,” he apparently said. People posted a sympathetic profile of their relationship on Monday.

When she announced the suspension, Psaki said Ducklo’s behavior was “completely unacceptable”, but she made an effort to emphasize that he was responding to a story about his personal life. “I’m not saying it’s acceptable, but I just want to make it clear that it’s not an issue related to White House or White House policy, or anything like that,” she said. However, some have said that the suspension does not meet the standard set by Biden early in his administration. “I’m not kidding when I say that,” Biden said on his first day in the office. ‘If you’re ever working with me and I hear you’re treating another colleague with respect, talk to someone, I promise you I’ll fire you on the spot – on the spot. No ifs, ands or buts. Everyone – everyone – is entitled to be treated decently and with dignity. ”