US Democratic National Committee Chair to resign after convention

Washington, July 25: US Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced on Sunday (July 24) that she would resign at the end of the party's four-day convention beginning Monday (July 25). [Union, ex-defence officials join Democratic National Convention]

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The announcement came amid furore over leaked emails showing DNC's bias against presidential contender Bernie Sanders, Xinhua news agency reported.

Donna Brazile, the DNC's Vice Chairwoman, would step in as interim Chairwoman, DNC, Brazile previously ran Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign and is a regular on cable news, a tweet by Communications Director Luis Miranda said.

"The best way for me to accomplish those goals (of this election cycle) is to step down as Party Chair at the end of this convention," Wasserman Schultz wrote in a statement.

As Party Chair, this week I will open and close the Convention and I will address our delegates about the stakes involved in this election not only for Democrats, but for all Americans," Schultz added.

"We have planned a great and unified convention this week and I hope and expect that the DNC team that has worked so hard to get us to this point will have the strong support of all Democrats in making sure this is the best convention we have ever had," she said.

The DNC staff members reportedly tried to push false stories about Sanders and questioned his religious belief.

Sanders, who has repeatedly called on Schultz to step down, reiterated his call in an interview with CNN, saying he believed that the DNC was supporting Hillary Clinton and "at opposition to our campaign all along."

Shortly after Wasserman Schultz announced her move, President Barack Obama and the Clinton campaign released statements respectively to express their gratitude for the DNC chair's work.

IANS